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| Source: Google Images |
As the race for the Republican nomination for the 2012 Presidential Election moves forward, two of the eight candidates have become party hopefuls. Candidates like former Senator Rick Santorum and former Governor Jon Huntsman did not do enough to gain the attention and support of Americans. Also evident, is the unsuccessful approach from Representative Michelle Bachmann, as she attempted to gain support through erroneous statements and outrageous allegations. Although it is too soon to count Bachmann completely out of the race, Governor’s Mitt Romney and Rick Perry seem to be the two most likely to win the nomination.
Recently, it
seems that the two candidates have been using entirely different tactics to win
support from both the American public and the Republican Party. Romney has been
on a full blown crusade to convince Americans that he is a regular working man,
despite his family’s estimated net worth of $200 million. In contrast, Perry’s
new campaign video makes the candidate seem like a super hero saving America
from the latest villain, President Obama.
The video was
made by Perry’s filmmaker Luca Baniano, who was also the filmmaker for
Republican candidate Tim Pawlenty. This is the second video released for Perry’s
campaign. The first was released shortly after his announcement to run for the
nomination and served a biographical purpose, introducing the governor and his
message. This new video however, packs a certain punch. The cinematic quality and
dramatic disposition of the video makes it seem like a trailer for the popular
super hero genre. It opens with clips and sound bites of President Obama’s
speeches juxtaposed with gloomy visuals of a distressed America. Then cue the
super hero! Governor Perry makes his appearance as the only answer for America’s
current situation. In a dramatic and emotional speech, Perry exclaims “I believe in America. I believe in
her purpose and her promise. I believe her best days have not yet been led”. He even calls the President “President Zero”,
a villainous nickname that sounds like it was taken right out of a comic book. Overall,
the video is meant to send a dramatic message and catch the attention of
Americans who will no doubt be impressed with the action-packed minute and
forty-five seconds.
Perry uses the attack tactic,
meaning he is attacking President Obama’s promises to Americans by claiming he
did not follow through and that Perry himself is the only answer to America’s
rebirth. I believe however that this attack is unfair. Although I am not
certain, I believe that the speeches in which are used for the video were taken
from President Obama’s campaign trail. The fact that he said these things
before even taking office discredits the objective of Perry’s video.
Now in the Romney camp, their
tactics seem to be of a less dramatic approach. Through various Twitter updates
the Republican hopeful only wants to prove to Americans that he is a regular guy.
Multiple snapshots of the Governor show him eating “normal people” food like
KFC and Subway. Romney claims to love fast food! It must be the easiest thing
to get for dinner since he is renovating his
$12 million home in San Diego. Nonetheless, Romney may not be lying about his obsession
with fast food, but does that necessarily make him just like the rest of us? He
has also been known to tweet about flying with the Southwest airline, known for
its cheap rates. These excessive blog posts from Romney are all schemes to ensure
to Americans that he is not out of touch with their struggles. The most likely
reason for Romney’s common man obsession was a result of a slip up made while
giving a speech in Florida to a group if unemployed citizens where he stated
that he too was unemployed. Romney caught a lot of bad publicity with this
statement and is now on a quest to re-brand himself using less luxurious
brands, all too gain support from the American people.
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| Mitt Romney eats Subway. Source: Twitter |
Will Romney’s “regular dude” tactic work, or Perry’s dramatic and attack driven ads? It is too soon to tell, but with the primaries coming up this spring it is clear we will see more attempts from all eight candidates to win the nomination.
Sources:
abcnews.go.com
www.politico.com
www.nytimes.com
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