Raising Race

-- By AdamCarlis - 18 Feb 2008

Introduction

In politics, "experience" can mean any number of things and so it means precisely nothing, making it a winning word for politicians crafting a message the masses can support. It works because it's versatile. The word's ambiguity means the candidates' message will be interpreted in concert with the voter’s own worldview. Obama uses the term "quarter century of experience" to denigrate old man McCain? and Americans picture an aging Washington insider. Clinton raises her own "experience" as a foil to newcomer Obama and those same Americans picture a young man not quite ready for the oval office. Voters are allowed to define the word and they do so to the benefit of the speaker. During this campaign, Clinton has harnessed the power of "experience," casting an air of uncertainty around Obama. If he, nonetheless, prevails in the primary, that uncertainty will carry over to the general election, be compounded by McCain, and threaten his electability.

Part 1: Speaking Broadly Lets Voters Assume the Best (and the Worst)

When Clinton speaks about experience, she speaks in generalities. Her campaign website glosses over the 15 years she spent at a major corporate law firm in a single sentence, giving it the same treatment as her one year, part-time stint on the board of President Carter’s Legal Services Corporation. The average voter not deeply immersed in the campaign would have difficulty objectively analyzing her experience.

This is not an accident. Generalities allow Clinton to capitalize on voters' positive association with experience and, without details, voters can assume she has the right experience for the job. This is a particularly powerful tactic since Democratic voters associate George W. Bush with inexperience, blaming (among other things) his lack of preparation for the war in Iraq, crumbling economy, and mismanaged bureaucracy.

Part 2: Obama the Foil

Clinton’s argument distinguishes her from Obama. The tactic is working, earning Clinton 94% of voters citing experience as their top issue. Since questions about Obama’s experience seek to stick, he has all but conceded the experience torch to Clinton, contrasting her “ready on day one” with his “right on day one.”

Obviously, there may be legitimate concerns about a one-term Congressmen and former state senator assuming the presidency (don’t tell Lincoln), but, given the media’s treatment of the Edwards campaign, other factors seem to be contributing to this characterization. Despite their remarkably similar background (both were single term senators and lawyers) Clinton can claim that Obama has not done enough to be president, but couldn’t make similar charges stick against Edwards. Perhaps Edwards’s eight additional years on this planet granted him immunity from the experience argument. There is certainly something in Clintons “35 years of change” that implies more is better. Maybe, Edwards’s prior run for the presidency cemented him as a candidate in voters’ mind and maybe, had Edwards achieved frontrunner stature, the criticism might have stuck to him as well. It is also possible that the charge of inexperience sticks to Obama because of his race. In a nation with embarrassingly few African Americans in government and backlash against affirmative action engrained into the psyche of white America, it is harder to picture an experienced black man than an experienced white man. Passionate, energetic, intelligent, and well-spoken, maybe, but, experienced, likely not. Either way, as the primary season draws to a close, the electorate is left with lingering questions about Mr. Obama’s readiness to assume the presidency and, if he is the nominee, those doubts will carry into the general election.

Part 3: Experience, the General Election, and Race

Obama After the Primaries

“Obamamania,” the media tells us, is beginning to wane. After months of questions about Obama’s experience, there is a growing sense that washing into the white house on a wave of exuberance is not how one should become president. While Obama has laid rightful claim to the mantle of hope, it appears that a general election campaign will require an equal part substance. Since Clinton’s campaign highlighted her experience, and, by contrast, his inexperience, this will be a challenge for Obama. The voter’s have made meaning of Clinton’s words and will move into the general election with a vision of Obama’s inexperience ingrained in their heads.

McCain's Capitalization on Experience

The RNC recently released talking points for the general election. The Republicans plan to pick up where Clinton left off, hammering Obama on experience and questioning his readiness to serve as commander and chief. While these claims didn’t slow Obama down in the primary, McCain? has more “experience” than Clinton and, after another nine months of raising the issue, it is possible that enough traction will be generated to make a dent in Obama’s popularity.

Racism Will Hurt Obama's Ability to Fight Back Effectively

The best politicians are able to reshape voters’ reality. Karl Rove convinced half the American people that there was a pre-war connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda. Saxby Chambliss convinced voters that Max Cleland, a triple amputee and decorated veteran was unpatriotic. All the skilled politician needs is a willing public, a little bit of truth, and a readiness to put political goals above common decency.

The American people’s resistance to the war was eroded by misinformation, a crackdown on dissent, and honest fear generated by the attack on the world trade center. Those same factors …

To fight back …

Harder for Obama because an “inexperienced black man” being ready for the presidency is tough to swallow …

Conclusion

Obama's Experience Problem

Topic: Clinton's attacks on Obama have somewhat succeeded in raising questions about his experience. Those concerns will be amplified by McCain during the general election and, given Obama's race, particularly difficult to overcome.

Origin of the Problem

• Clinton used “experience” to depict both her and Obama
• Questions of readiness stuck to Obama
• People predisposed to think inexperience is bad
  • Plane meaning of the word
  • Bush

Experience in the General Election

• McCain? will pick up where Hillary left off
  • More Experienced
  • Older
  • Veteran
  • More Time to Hammer

Barriers to Overcoming the Criticism

• Obama’s Inexperience
  • Lincoln
    • 2 potential considerations:
      • Obama and Lincoln had v. similar political experience. But what about other kinds of experience? I know very little about Lincoln's biography, other than that he, too, was a lawyer. But did he have any kind of "experience" that Obama didn't?
      • What about the fact that Lincoln and Obama come from very different times? Is experience more important now than then? Is a different kind of experience now than then? - Amanda
  • Voters are willing to look past inexperience (Bush)
    • But isn't part of the problem that people felt burned by Bush, and are now looking for someone with a little more experience (or intelligence, or something)? -Amanda
• Obama’s Age
  • Voters are willing to look past youth (Kennedy, Clinton)
  • With McCain? as a too-old foil, youth might be an asset
• Obama’s Race
  • Harder to picture an experienced black man than an experienced white man – difficult to dig out of the hole.

Conclusion

- I think this might be moving in a better direction than your last paper. I think part of the danger with your topic is making it seem as if candidates are conspiring to put forth a racist argument. Obviously that's not only an inelegant summary of your point, but, well, not a summary of your point, since you make clear that you don't think any of this is (probably) some sort of evil master plan to play the race card. In any case, what I'm trying to say is that I think your paper rests on safer ground when it looks at what the voters are hearing, not what the candidates are trying to make the voters hear. Do other people agree?

Also, interesting sidenote: Clinton's "ready on day one" spiel? Allegedly stolen from McCain? 's website. -Amanda

# * Set ALLOWTOPICVIEW = TWikiAdminGroup, AdamCarlis