Free Republic

What's the difference between a president and a can of Pepsi? When it comes to winning elections, the answer is very little. The 2008 election was not about issues, it was about image. Not just the image of the candidate, but the image of his brand. In marketing terms, a brand is not just a label, it's the way that the customer is meant to perceive the product and interact with it. Take the can of Pepsi. It doesn't matter what's actually in the can, you don't have access to the full list of ingredients anyway. And if you did,...

Michelle Obama: It’s Tough To Stay Grounded First lady looks back at her personal challenges of the past year Jan. 19, 2010 Every once in a while Michelle Obama checks in with old friends. "Do you still recognize me?" she'll ask. "Do I still feel like Michelle?" In the past year, the first lady's name has popped up on Forbes' "most powerful women" list, People's "most beautiful" list, Time's "most influential" list, Vanity Fair's "international best-dressed" list, Barbara Walters' "most fascinating" list. And so on. Her every word, move, bite, gesture, dress and shoe has been analyzed and second-guessed. Is...

The 2009 political year began on a high note of "change" and "hope" and ended in a thud of stalemate, despair and public fury over the economy, health care reform and the war in Afghanistan. No wonder it may go down as the year of the angry voter. Americans will remember 2009 as much for the grassroots protests - at "Tea Party" rallies and town hall meetings crashed by conservatives to demonstrations by public-option-favoring anti-war progressives - as the Beltway grudge matches that characterized President Obama's first year in office. In California, residents endured months of bitter, partisan battles in...