TPM Reader RP, on a winning campaign theme for 2008:
Of all the damage that the Bushies have done, perhaps the worst blow has been to the fundamental sense of ourselves as the nation that “gets things done.” We built the Transcontinental Railroad. We put a man on the moon. Our Arsenal of Democracy won World Wars I & II. (I know, I know, the Russians would argue the latter point).
Thanks to the arrogant, hapless Bushies, we are the nation that bellows “Mission Accomplished!” and then gets bogged down in a hopeless, ever-worsening quagmire. We are the nation that suffers a catastrophic loss of an entire region due to hurricane damage, and then flounders helplessly as millions of our fellow citizens give up hope. We are the nation that blusters that its “unacceptable for “evil-doers” to develop nuclear weapons, and then watches helplessly as they go right ahead anyway.
I’m convinced Bush is at 29% because voters perceive him as (increasingly) pathetic, deluded and ineffectual — a toxic mash-up of Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon. The Democrat who picks up this idea and runs with it — the idea that America is a CAN DO country (and that government can be a part of restoring our national reputation for overcoming challenges) — will be the one to win.
I think this is mostly right. I would argue that the worst blow dealt by Bush has been to America’s reputation, domestically and internationally, as a more or less reliable narrator of the passing parade of world events. That reputation was shattered internationally when we re-elected Bush, but wasn’t seriously tarnished domestically until later, beginning with Katrina. That particular loss is worse for a number of reasons, not the least of which is because restoring our self-image as a can-do nation is easier–we simply must start doing again.
But I would be the first to admit that RP‘s proposed campaign theme is much simpler, more compelling, and would resonate with voters at a deeper emotional level.
