Designing hope: Campaigner vs. president

Whatever you think of Obama as a president he is an excellent campaigner — these two things are very different in many respects. Being a good president is about getting policies through, getting what you want, knowing when to compromise and when to be obstinate. Obama has not been terribly impressive in this respect. He has gotten some of his policies through and has improved the lives of many Americans but too often he has compromised on his campaign promises and goals. The Obameter (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/) is a nice demonstration of this. But as a campaigner Obama is hard to out do.

Campaigns are about a feeling, not about results. If you can make people feel inspired and hopeful and that their lives will be better with you in office and that they can feel better about their country with you as its leader then you will win. Full stop. There are many ways to make people feel that way, which is part of why campaigns are interesting. Obama may be a mediocre president but he knows the right words to say and the right way to say them. His campaign is beautiful. Actually truly beautiful. His website is well designed and his Tumblr is a haven for those who love good infographics. Even if you don’t like design the number of sleek and sharp infographics posted on Obama’s Facebook right after Paul Ryan was announced speak to this style of campaign.

Part of his social media success is that people like him. If you can inspire people then they will get behind you. Simply having a well-run social media campaign is not enough.

Obama has the campaign down, now hopefully he will get the chance to work on the president thing a bit more.

First impressions of Paul Ryan

The vice-presidential candidate can often set the tone for a presidential election campaign. For John McCain it marked the shift from a moderate voice to an attempt to court the tea party. Likewise Mitt Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan as his presidential candidate running mate is revealing about his tactics — and is likely a very poor choice on his part.

From what first impression of Paul Ryan reveal he is very conservative — even more so than Mitt Romney in many ways — and a fan of Ayn Rand. (It should be noted that my general first impressions come from various centrist and left wing blogs). This choice shows that Romney cares more about attracting conservative and ultra-right wing votes — which he already has — than about attracting moderates. The VP is supposed to balance out a President’s weaknesses or cover different ground. Romney’s weaknesses lie with moderates, not hardliners. With Ryan as VP candidate Romney is doubling up on the same ground and losing the hearts of centrists and swing voters. The left wing bloggosphere has jumped on Ryan and started to churn out critiques and snappy info graphics — Obama’s Tumblr has a marvelous design department.

Romney is up against one of the best campaigners in history — regardless of what you think of Obama as a president his campaigning is the gold standard — and this move will not help him. We do not really know Paul Ryan yet. We just have first impressions amalgamated quickly by news outlets and blogs. So far it seems that Romney missed the mark. Ryan will only alienate swing voters and will help to secure a hold on voters that Romney had locked up by virtue of being a republican in the first place.

Of debt and taxes

It is often easier to not say things that are awkward but true in life. Politics is a place where this can be especially true. Americans are coming to a place where they will have to dig deep and ask hard questions about the way they are taxed and the way their government spends their money.

The American Congress has recently been battling about the budget and it looks as those the Republicans and Democrats will continue to do battle over finances for the foreseeable future. Obama’s plan seems strong and it is good he is trying to take action. The Republican plan to cut services and limit tax raises is foolish. There is no way enough money can be found that way and a lot of services they wish to cut benefit a large number of Americans and help sustain the American economy.

At the end of the day taxes pay for services. There are a lot of services offered by the American government that are extremely popular, beneficial and necessary. Americans have been enjoying these services without paying for them and it’s starting to catch up with them. Tough questions will have to be asked and priorities will have to be determined.

If Obama can be strong on this issue and show that he is both reasonable and responsible he may find an area to prove himself before the presidential election. If he can come up with a plan that works and get it through he will have an edge over the Republicans.

If Americans are smart and if politicians are bold the next American presidential election will be fought on the deficit, spending and taxation. This will be divisive and difficult but ignoring the problem won’t make it go away.