Posted on 10/20/2005 2:38:30 PM PDT by Crackingham
It doesn't have the cachet of Ronald Reagan's "It's Morning in America," and probably will never go down in the history books next to "A chicken in every pot" as one of the more memorable campaign slogans. But if Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has anything to say about it, the phrase "America Can Do Better" will become a familiar part of the Democratic message in next year's elections.
The Nevada Democrat has been routinely dropping the slogan into speeches and interviews, and his communications staff has used it liberally in press releases, even slapping it into the subject lines of e-mails sent to reporters. In recent weeks, other Democratic senators have popped the line into their own speeches.
A slight variation, "Together America Can Do Better," was prominent in background signs for an energy rally hosted by Reid on Monday. He slipped the phrase in during a weekly meeting Tuesday with reporters, saying: "American can do better than the agenda the Republicans have set for us." And a Wednesday press release on home heating oil read: "America can do better than leaving working families out in the cold this winter."
Experts say political slogans are not chosen -- or used -- lightly, but instead often are tested first on focus groups. That was not true in this case, Reid spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said. Hafen said the phrase first surfaced in the closed-door caucus meetings that Senate Democrats hold each Tuesday.
Reid began using the phrase regularly after the August congressional recess, and other senators have since picked it up, but Reid and his handlers did not officially launch the slogan, Hafen said.
"It just caught on, and momentum has built for it," she said.
The slogan is not new. It's part of a "linguistic legacy" of the Democratic Party, said David Kusnet, a speechwriter for former President Bill Clinton and author of "Speaking American" about Democratic political rhetoric.
President John F. Kennedy used it in his 1960 campaign, and his brother Robert Kennedy used it again in 1968, Kusnet said.
The phrase works because it conveys a criticism of the Republicans while offering optimism about America, which voters respond to, Kusnet said.
"It's something like a football coach talking to his team at halftime," Kusnet said. "And the team may be down by a few points, but he is telling them we can do better in the second half."
Effective slogans often tap into public frustrations or fears that may be bubbling below the surface, said Marie Danziger, director of the communications program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
"It's upbeat," she said of Reid's slogan. "And it does feed into the general frustration that the public has been feeling about the competency of the Bush administration. So it's timely."
On the other hand, it plays into the Republican critique that Democrats have no concrete plans of their own, Danziger said.
"It doesn't give any indication of the new direction that the Democrats have in mind," she said.
The problem with Reid's slogan is that beyond the catch phrase, the Democrats have not established themselves as an alternative to the Republicans, said Clark S. Judge, a Reagan speechwriter and managing director of the White House Writers Group.
"A slogan doesn't stand on its own," Judge said, calling Reid's slogan "tepid."
"America Can Do Better - By Electing Fewer Democrats"
Yeah, I like that...
That's just begging for graffiti artists adding a 'then us' to the end of every campagin sign.
('America Can Do Better')
Yes, agreed
No more Reid, democrats or Rino's!
If by the phraseology "America Can Do Better", Sen. Reid thinks that the people of America who are jealous of the rich to the point that they'll gladly throw their wallets to the Democrats in the form of exorbitant tax hikes, then I'm afraid America cannot do better.
Wow! Now that's a show-stopper!
Wow! Now that's a show-stopper!
Oh, Harry...I think WE can come up with a better slogan for y'all:
* It's Appeasement & Wealth Redistribution Time Again in America
*T he Democrats: Stuck on a Special Kind of Stupid
* Hey, America: Please Entrust Us With Our National Security. Please! Please?
How 'bout "Nevada Can Do Better"?
Can Democrats do better? I doubt it.
Bwahahaha!
That is the lamest slogan I have ever heard. Isn't it a slightly repackaged version of what John Kerry tried to foist on us a couple of years ago?
I have a plan=America (we the dems) can do better.
I'm sorry, but the words "float" and "do" in the same sentence with "Harry Reid" just makes me think of Mr. Hankie.
Oh yeah, that's inspiring.. Guaranteed to put a tear in every American's eye and a revival of spirit and dedication. America Can Do Better. Pitiful
um, excuse me, but if it won't stand on it's own, doesn't that make it flaccid, not tepid?
* Hey! We're the party of Michael Moore, George Soros, Barbra Streisand and Howard Dean! You can trust us! ... Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?
Yes, they can. Why don't they? What the heck is the deal with this loser?
amen
Brings back memories of the opening sequency of the Stepford Wives (II) with it's "I can do better" theme. Sure didn't work out for the beautiful Nicole and it's not going to work for the (Socialist) Democrats either.
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