Propaganda fit for a President

                Clearly with the 2012 election campaigns in full swing, there will be abundant advertisements, speeches, and conventions. Among all these things, there is bound to be plenty of propaganda. I feel like no political campaign is complete without a bit of subconscious messaging or even blunt newspeak (1984, anyone?). So the question is how specifically we are seeing Romney and Obama use these techniques of propaganda at their conventions in the past week and the present, respectively.

                I notice quickly in both conventions there are several techniques that are very prevalent. First off, the overriding use of testimonial in both parties is undeniable. Romney had a pretty solid line-up, including many prominent politicians like Rick Santorum and John McCain, but that was expected. Of course politicians of the GOP will support their own. What may have surprised people, myself included, was the celebrity influence at the Republican Convention. Olympic gold medalist Kim Rhode spoke and later Clint Eastwood took center stage, with the chair in the supporting role. It appears that Romney’s goal was to show Americans that famous actors and athletes support him, so you should too.

On the other hand, Obama took a slightly different approach. His lineup of speakers does not include well-known celebrities. Instead, he’s called a myriad of politicians from different states and different levels. Even without cultural icons, Obama has some big names to speak on his behalf. In a video endorsement, former President Jimmy Carter spoke, as did former President Bill Clinton. Sandra Fluke is present at the convention this week as well, or as some may know her, the woman who Rush Limbaugh called a “slut” on his radio show.  So what does this say about Obama’s propaganda techniques? He is gathering political support by using other politicians and creating credibility within the political sphere, which may be a better approach considering Clint’s little fiasco at the Republican Convention.

If you examine closely enough, you find many other types of propaganda present in the conventions, although less rampant than testimonial. Plain Folks was used nicely to establish that both candidates are not big wig politicians, but just like you and me. Mitt Romney is a jolly old grandfather figure, according to his family video, and he even “repairs” light bulb covers by using pieces of cardboard. Sounds exactly like me, doesn’t it? Obama does a similar thing, portraying himself as the family man. Michelle did a good part of the work on this one, saying she’s a mother first, and a first lady second. That she cares about the wellbeing of her daughters above all and of families across the nation.

Of course, no political campaign is complete without a hearty serving of name-calling. Although much of this is saved for the television ads, the convention speeches are riddled with such negativity about the opposing candidate. Paul Ryan took a stance against Obama, chronicling his funneling of Medicare money to the health care bill to paint him as a greedy villain. Obama responded with a speaker named Randy Johnson, who was fired from one of Romney’s Bain Capital companies. He claimed that Romney has no moral compass and portrays him as a greedy hater of the working class.

While some of these propaganda messages may be true or effective, it’s hard to sort the truth from the sheer rhetoric. The only thing we can be completely sure of is the fact that more name calling will take place in the coming months.