After watching this professionally produced production, the Obama campaign’s intentions were made crystal clear. As a monumental piece to Senator Obama’s closing arguments to the American electorate, the intentions of the campaign were multifaceted. In one respect, from a fairly elementary perspective, by identifying four specific cases of American families struggling under the floundering United States financial crisis, Senator Obama has made an effort to hit home in the hearts and souls of blue collar voters, and, on a broader level, to strike a chord with Americans of all socioeconomic statuses. The families shown reflect a wide array of the heartbreaking and brutally trying conditions many blue collar Americans find themselves in.
By showcasing these four narratives Obama and his team strived to show American viewers that uplifting individuals and families like those featured will be a tremendous priority for his administration from the moment he is sworn into office. For instance, Obama chose to shine the spotlight on one white family in Missouri that is forced to meticulously ration snack foods. As depicted via authentic video footage, this family allots a specific area on a shelf in its refrigerator to each member of the family. The individuals are responsible for making sure their “snack food” lasts them the duration of the week. The mother in this family is shown watching her child at football practice in the brutal cold of the night while her husband works tirelessly at a job demanding physical labor despite a serious injury that cannot be surgically repaired due to high medical costs. Another situation highlighted pits an African American couple of retirees in Ohio struggling to afford high costs of medicine. To finance his wife’s medicine, the husband in this family is forced to take a job in Wal-Mart, despite being retired and of old age.
On a more visceral and emotional level however, with this ad, the Obama campaign was on a mission to “Americanize” the Senator and show American voters how beneath his multiple Ivy League degrees, scholarly demeanor, and flashy rhetoric lies a relatable family man who shares their values, worldview, and priorities at this critical point in history. In the production, time is allotted to mention of Obama’s upbringing, including how he was shaped by the guidance of his mother, and the lack of presence his deceased father had in his childhood. Senator Obama shared his mother’s story, the story of a woman “who struggled through her bout with breast cancer” (Rutenberg 2008). He also spoke of “the difficulty she had with her insurance company, to help viewers understand why his health care reform program is what it is” (Rutenberg 2008). This element of personal reflection on the part of the candidate was a tremendous asset to this program. It served the purpose of showing why the notion of healthcare reform to assist those in economic need as well as those who come to the negotiating table with devastating troubles such as preexisting conditions is something that he himself can not only sympathize with, but identify with and truly understand on a heart-to-heart level. In the same way that Senator Obama made himself relatable by telling his mother’s story, he featured his wife Michelle, albeit in a relatively limited role, to explain how he is a family man at heart, and holds nothing more dear to his soul than his two daughters and ensuring futures for them that are brighter and filled with more opportunity than the lives he and his wife have led.
While the focus of this telecast seemingly centers around campaigning to win over voters on emotional and visceral levels, the campaign was careful to also include praise and endorsement of the candidate from colleagues and outside observers who have watched him work both in and outside of the halls of Capitol Hill. Governors Deval Patrick of Massachusetts and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, both early and enthusiastic supporters of Obama’s provided praise of his ability to work towards tangible results despite the perceived culture of stagnant movement in Washington. Furthermore, Obama’s Vice-Presidential running mate, Senator Joe Biden testified as to how very soon upon entry into the United States Senate, a body notorious for the importance placed on seniority, Obama, a freshmen reached across party lines to work with Republican Richard Lugar, one of the most respected members of the GOP caucus on crucial and groundbreaking legislation pertaining to ethics and later foreign policy.
On the whole, while many critics, namely those close to the McCain campaign have criticized the notion of spending so massively on such a large block of airtime, and have questioned the motivations of the decision for other reasons, the amount of voters reached cannot be disputed. Statistical media analysis revealed that 33.7 million viewers tuned into the Obama Campaign’s half-hour media blitz, only about 5 million less than the viewership that watched Obama’s historic address to the Democratic National Convention on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech.” It is clear that this production was seen as important and historic in the eyes of many, as it even prompted the Fox Network to negotiate with Major League Baseball to postpone the start of a World Series game to accommodate Obama’s telecast. While the outcome of the election is obviously yet to be decided, it is difficult to imagine how the Obama campaign could be hurt by this cinematically brilliant display of emotion, promise, and strong narration.
By showcasing his own family, along with families of different races and economic circumstances in four different swing states, Obama and his team showed how this election is about ideas far bigger and more powerful than race or other issues that have traditionally been used as polarizing and divisive forces. Our country is in need of leadership that transcends race, class, gender, and other identifiers. Showing how all Americans can rally behind common causes and relate to each other, even if only in minor ways is the theme that will pervade Obama’s closing arguments to the American electorate.
For Further Reading:
Rutenberg, Jim. “Obama Infomerical, a Closing Argument to the Everyman.”
New York Times (29 October 2008):
THE FOLLOWING LINK LEADS TO THE ACTUAL AD DEVELOPED BY THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN AND AIRED ON NATIONAL TELEVISION:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtREqAmLsoA
