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Home | Politics | Monica Crowley

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Obama: The New Brand

by Monica Crowley
Posted: 08/07/2007

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In the crucial early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) has now,
to the latest polls, pulled dead even with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) In Iowa, both of them still trail Sen. Joh
(D-N.C.), but even there, Obama is nipping at Clinton’s heels.
The question is: why is Obama getting traction now? Why, all of a sudden, has this junior Senator from Illinois
so much attention, support and money? Why has he already graced the covers of Time and Newsweek multiple
Why is he attracting huge crowds? Why is he creating a sensation?

The conventional explanation is that he’s the first credible black man to run for president. And that’s not a sma
But that’s not what’s really going on here.
Co

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The real explanation for the phenomenon of Barack Obama is this: he is the first new BRAND of the 21st centu

Think about it this way: with this presidential election, we have finally entered the new millennium. The first tw
elections of the new millennium -- 2000 and 2004 -- weren’t really new at all. Bush vs. Gore? Bush vs. Kerry?
were 20th century races. They were Vietnam-era guys. In fact, the Vietnam war was all over these campaigns
CBS’s use of fraudulent documents questioning Bush’s National Guard service to Sen. Kerry’s “reporting for du
2004 Democratic convention. They were running like it was 1966. Or 1968 or 1972. They were partying like it
because it WAS 1999.

They were -- they ARE -- old, tired brands.

Now, our politics have finally caught up with the calendar, which says we’re already seven years into the new m
They have also caught up with our technology, which speeds along like Bill Clinton through a meeting with Hill

In this new era, the rules are different. The generation is different. The way people get their news is different.
people don’t read books or newspapers or magazines anymore. They get their news off the internet, their cell
and from YouTube.|

The forces bringing in this new millennium are converging -- and they are converging around Barack Obama. W
Because Obama is a new brand. And Hillary is an old brand. Both of the Clintons are tired, spent brands.

If you are a new voter, the Clintons have been around since you were two years old. If you are under thirty, th
been around since you were in middle school. Even if you are under forty, there is enormous Clinton fatigue be
this age of cut-to-the-quick life and super high-speed connections (which is what Generations X, Y, and now Z
raised on), then the Clintons make you yawn. They are yesterday’s newspaper. They aren’t even on yesterday

It must be beginning to dawn on Team Clinton that this is a force beyond even their control. A few weeks ago,
Bill out to say that although “some people” think the Clintons are “yesterday’s news,” he said he thought “yest
news was pretty good.”

If that’s all they have to counter this tidal wave, then Hillary had better start rehearsing, “You want fries with t
Because although she seems relatively dominant now, there’s a lot more vulnerability in her candidacy than m
eye. The technology is 21st century, and until now, the political thinking has been 20th century. But now the p
catching up -- and fast. People are used to getting the latest thing. They want it fast, hip, cool, and new. This
Clintons. Their brand is as exhausted as the Bush brand is.

This is why Hillary made a big mistake when she attacked Obama recently for his statement that he would talk
America’s worst enemies. Her attack brought him up to her level. Frontrunners need to pretend as if their prim
competitors are mere nuisances, and not deign to engage them directly. By going after him, she elevated him
brand.

Team Clinton rarely makes a mistake. But it must be occurring to them -- between their photo shoots for Vogu
fending off “hecklers” -- that there is a bigger danger to her than they ever anticipated.

It’s called modern times.

She is the candidate of a bygone era. Obama, on the other hand, projects a futurist image. He’s very 21st cen
that’s why he’s doing so well.

Try as they might, those old dogs -- Bill and Hillary -- cannot be rebranded. She’s taking a stab at it by runnin
“change,” by trotting out her Generation Y daughter, Chelsea, and by spotlighting her glamorous 32-year-old t
chief of staff, Huma Abedin. But all of this is akin to re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

The Clintons are Richard Nixon to Barack Obama’s JFK in 1960.

They are George H.W. Bush to Barack Obama’s Bill Clinton in 1992.

Sometimes, the old hand wins -- when people want steadiness and reassurance. But when America is in an era
one, ready to sprout new buds like a tulip in spring, the old guard doesn’t do it. They want the new brand. And
of the great ironies of this race: Hillary Clinton may be defeated by the Bill Clinton of 2008: Barack Obama.

Monica Crowley, Ph.D., is a nationally syndicated radio host and television commentator. She has also written
New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Baltimore Sun and The New York Post.
www.monicamemo.com
Reader Comments: (
18
)
Here are a few of the comments submitted by our readers. Click to view all

Report Abusive PostThere's been a Bush or Clinton on every presidential ticket since 1980. Had enough? Sure,
empty-suit can't withstand the scrutiny of a national campaign no matter how hip the packaging or how many
gets from dead people in Chicago. Still, it would be sweet to see him knock Hillary out of the race. No more Cli
.OR Bushies.
Kelly Staples, Miami, Florida
Aug 07, 2007 @ 08:31 AM
Report Abusive PostMonica: This is the best analysis of the election I have read so far. It is not likely to be equ
is the new brand of the GOP? Mitt Romney?

Richard Cummings
Richard Cummings, Sag Harbor,NY
Aug 07, 2007 @ 09:00 AM
Report Abusive PostLooks like there's a manufacturing defect. The new brand is as vapid and vacuous as the o

But to take your analogy to the logical end point, Hillary is fading because the over-hyped Clinton brand under
Hillary wants to ride Bill's accomplishments into the White House but Bill didn't accomplish anything consistent
political ideology. The Clinton brand is failure personified. Consequently, we have the new, exciting, invigoratin
dynamic, young, energetic, charismatic, handsome, intelligent, clean over-hyped star politician who has no bu
background, no legislative background, and no executive background. His one claim to fame is that he gave a
speech at the Democratic Convention during the last presidential election three years ago. He gave one speech
speech. One. Speech.

To call Obama an empty suit, as Kelly does, is an insult to suits everywhere. At best, he's an empty Polo shirt.
Curly Smith, Dallas, TX
Aug 07, 2007 @ 10:22 AM
Report Abusive PostCurly: Your point is well taken; my apologies to suits everywhere. Regards.
Kelly Staples, Miami, Florida
Aug 07, 2007 @ 12:08 PM
Report Abusive PostCurly,

He may only be an empty Polo shirt, but there are enough ignorant people out there to put the outcome of this
in doubt.
Thermonuclear Sunshine, Elyria, Ohio
Aug 07, 2007 @ 01:00 PM
Report Abusive PostGood point!

"but there are enough ignorant people out there to put the outcome of this election in doubt."

I agree, it is those darn Red Staters who want to "fight them over there so they do not have to fight them ove
Kool-Aid Free, Greatest country ever
Aug 07, 2007 @ 02:48 PM
Report Abusive PostBarak Obama's popularity has less to do with branding and more to do with substance. Lis
speak. He is a uniter. He is a brilliant man, charming and charismatic. To call him an empty suit only indicates
have either never really looked closely at him or that you simply have no idea what you are talking about.
Bill Mann, Vashon, WA
Aug 07, 2007 @ 04:22 PM
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