Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Bill Clinton campaign 1992

This campaign for Bill Clinton's election in 1992 seems to focus on the 'American Dream' aspect of how he rose to be leader of the Democratic party (and subsequently President in 1993) from his 'little town' roots in which he had a very small income. Unlike many election campaigns today, Clinton does not mention the negatives of his opponents or tries to drag them down in any way. On the contrary, he clearly makes an effort to appear to be humble and to tell those watching that if his dreams could come true than they should have "hope" in their dreams too.

Something that most likely would have appealed to those watching would have been his declaration that he 'didn't care about making money' but instead wanted to make a 'difference'. The campaign then goes on to focus on the progress his party had already made and how much more change they could bring (without actually giving details of how these changes will come about). There is a sense throughout the campaign that Clinton can be seen as just a normal American trying to do good for his country and this invariably would have won many voters.

However, the aspect of the campaign that struck me was an idea of equality for all, consequently reminding me of the Declaration of Independence  in which it was stated that 'all men are created equal' and therefore would have reminded many Americans of their ideals and values. Similarly, the constant push in this campaign for the 'American Dream' to be recognised in Bill Clinton seemed to hark back to the 'unalienable' right of the 'pursuit of happiness', also found in the Declaration of Independence.  The main theme of this campaign seems to be to give Americans fresh hope in these ideals from the United States beginnings and to try and provoke the people into believing they can not only pursue but achieve their 'happiness'.
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