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| 'Phenomenom?' Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama speaks to supporters after the New Hampshire primary at
a rally in Nashua, New Hampshire. Obama's presidential campaign with a message and inspiration of hope and change, has often
been described as 'a movement.' Jim Young/Reuters |
In '08 Democratic battle, it's Obama's movement vs. Clinton's campaign
His candidacy works to inspire, while she appeals to reason and cites credentials.
from the January 11, 2008 edition
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Duchy Trachtenberg, a county council member from Montgomery County, Md., went out to Iowa to volunteer for Clinton with other activists from the National Organization for Women. She saw firsthand the generational divide that has shown up in polls.
"Many of us began our journey as activists … at a time when women were paid less, when women didn't necessarily have the right to choose an abortion," she says. "Not that all of that's been resolved, clearly, in 2008, but some of that has improved certainly. So the idea that in our lifetime, we'd be able to support a very strong, credible, experienced women and that the possibility is there, it exists, it's very exciting to those of my generation."
"It could be for younger women, Senator Clinton's candidacy doesn't quite mean the same thing," she adds.
For the New York senator, the Catch-22 of her campaign is that, no matter her skill and intelligence, she got to where she is at least in part because she is a Clinton – and she's running for president in a year when voters are yearning for change. Obama has tapped into that, in a way that voters rooting for a woman president have not.
Patrice Gancie of Washington, D.C., and her husband decided to spent part of winter vacation in New Hampshire, volunteering on the Obama campaign and showing their teenage sons democracy in action. They came away impressed with Obama's organization – not to mention the crowds that came to see him.
"I went up there supporting him as a candidate. I didn't understand how much of a movement it was until I actually walked into Nashua," says Ms. Gancie, who works for an adoption agency. "He's kind of letting us dare to believe in ourselves again."
Obama's inclusive language
Observers who have studied the rhetoric of both Obama and Clinton note that Obama uses a lot of inclusive language – more "we" and less "I" or "us against them." It's rule No. 1 of community organizers, to bring people along with you, and not just stand there in a bull's-eye.
"Hillary's mistake is that she's not crafted a theme for her campaign," says Ron Walters, director of the African American Leadership Institute at the University of Maryland. "When she stands up there, she says, 'Look at my experience. I'm going to fix it.' Fix what?"
He adds: "Obama says, 'This is what we're going to fix. We."
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