Republicans return to a strategy of sharp lines and bold colors
Tom Baxter
Editor, Southern Political Report
September 4, 2008 —
A lot was made of the setting for the Democratic National Convention, particularly those columns that were used as an element on the last night. But nothing at either convention has shaped the way viewers perceive the message like the giant video screen at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Compared to the busy sets of the debates, and at the convention in Denver last week, the screen is so stark and simple that at times it resembles a giant piece of modern art. Viewed on television it conveys a powerful impression, though not at all the one the conventioneers receive in the hall. As a series of speakers roused their party Wednesday night, the big screen seemed to wander through a slideshow of Americana, from black-and-white boyhood shots of John McCain to the sun coming up over wheat fields. But what most of America saw was the speaker set against whatever was on the lower border of the screen at the time. Thus, to viewers back home, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee spoke against a backdrop of pulsating red. In the hall, Republicans saw former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaking in front of an enormous view of the sun rising over Manhattan. But most of the country saw him deride Barack Obama’s qualifications to lead the country in a dangerous world against the backdrop of the dark, roiling sea in the foreground of that shot. Finally, the conventioneers saw Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin accept the vice presidential nomination with a succession of color photos towering over her. But America saw her with her beige blouse highlighted against a deep black – the closest thing to a straight black-and-white shot you could get without going all the way. These color selections synch too perfectly with Republican strategy to be accidental. In essence, Palin’s acceptance speech was an announcement that despite the deep divisions revealed within the Republican Party revealed by this year’s primaries, and regardless of the forecasts that this year’s election will be won by convincing voters in the middle of the political spectrum, this is going to be a campaign of lines drawn sharply between left and right. President Bush has been neatly dealt with and excised from this convention, but the speeches culminating with Palin’s Wednesday night were designed to appeal to the conservative majority which elected Bush in 2004, and which McCain has always felt rightfully should have gone to him. This was no appeal to Americans in the middle, no matter what the conventional wisdom about this year’s election. How this strategy will play out in the weeks ahead is hard to know, but the Democrats have blundered badly in their early attacks on Palin, and they will again if they don’t step back and take a careful look at what they’re dealing with. If after Wednesday night Obama’s strategists don’t know they have a tough cookie on their hands, they’re in trouble. On a host of issues, from abortion to global warming, Palin holds views well to the right of the American mainstream. If the Democrats focus on those issue contrasts and stay as far away as possible from any discussion about who she is, they should contain the enthusiasm for Palin to the party’s conservative core. Obama acted correctly when he put Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy off-limits immediately. But the Obama campaign’s jab at Palin on the experience issue has only underscored the vulnerability of another two-Senator Democratic ticket. And if they allow Palin to cast their criticisms as a personal attack on her, the Democrats are going to find there are a lot of Sarah Palins out there.
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