The First Casualty: A Political Campaign Lexicon

Exploit Your Opponent's Gaffes
The Best Gaffes support a perceived negative stereotype

When Barack Obama went off script in Roanoke, Virginia justifying increased taxes on wealthy individuals and business owners.  Obama's message culminated with the following remarks, "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business. you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

The Romney campaign pounced.  "It's insulting to every entrepreneur, every innovator," Mr. Romney said, calling the statement, "startling and revealing."  Painting the comment as a rare insight into Obama's true feelings about business.  "It wasn't a gaffe. It was his ideology. I don't think the president understands what makes this country great." Romney said at the Middlesex Truck and Coach, a small truck repair shop just outside Boston.  


The Obama Truth Team launched a curious rebuttal claiming Obama's comment was taken out of context.   


The Romney campaign now sells T-Shirts (for a $20.00 dollar donation) that read, "I built my business, Mr. President."  The campaign released an video response featuring Hudson New Hampshire's Jack Gilchrist of Gilchrist Metal Fabricating.  




Romney of course has given the Obama Campaign an equal amount, if not more, of gaffes.  Given the constant cycle of campaigning, but also the constant video of candidates from onlookers and opposition there are more to come.  Romney's gaffes play best when they enforce the image of him as the ultra-wealthy out-of-touch profiteer.  Romney gaffes likely to haunt him this election are (thus far):

• Corporations are people, my friend.
• I like being able to fire people.
• I'm not concerned about the very poor.
• $10,000.00 bet to Governor Perry
• [My Wife] drives a couple of Cadillacs.

To be effective politically, gaffes must be consistent with the candidate's perceived negative stereotype.  The most common stereotype appears to be that the opposition is stupid.  Recent examples include George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, and Dan Quayle.  Ronald Reagan's detractors considered him feeble-minded and befuddled.   Any verbal misstep consistent with this stereotype is taken as an affirming event, while gaffes that are inconsistent are overlooked.


Sarah Palin demonstrated this with her posting on Facebook giving a "Thanksgiving Message to all 57 States."  The post actually recounted numerous Obama gaffes that have not received as much attention by virtue of the fact that Obama's stereotype is that he is very intelligent. 


Where do you come down on these gaffes?  Are they taking things out of context or are they rare truthful insights into the candidates real thoughts?



UPDATE:

7/24/2012 - Obama is still trying to explain his remarks as they appear to be gaining traction with the public.  Obama explained, "“We built this country together — individual entrepreneurs taking advantage of opportunities and putting their sweat and tears into it, and all of us making investments in things like public schools and public colleges and universities, the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge,” Mr. Obama said. “That’s how we sent a man to the moon. If Mr. Romney does not understand that, then he doesn’t understand what it takes to build an economy where everybody has a shot to succeed — from the worker who punches a clock to the entrepreneur who wants to take a chance on a new idea.”

7/25/2012 - Oops! It appears that the company Romney features in his "These Hands" video received a $500,000.00 US Government SBA loan in the late 1980s.


7/25/2012 - Revealing Obama's concern that this gaffe seems to have legs, his campaign issued another video titled "Always" where President himself speaks directly into the camera and explains the "that" in the "You didn't build that" referred to bridges, roads, and education.  "Those ads taking my words about small business out of context; they're flat out wrong. Of course Americans build their own business. Everyday hard-working people sacrifice to meet a payroll, create jobs, and make our economy run.

And what I said was that we need to stand behind them as America always has. By investing in education, training, roads and bridges, research and technology. I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message because I believe we're all in this together."