Hillary Clinton addressing the crowd, Saturday June 13, in Roosevelt Park, New York
by Etse Sikanku
According to
Trent, Friedenberg and Denton Jnr (2011), the presidential campaign announcement
address has four purposes: (1) intention to run (2) scare off opponents (3)
give reasons for running and (4) indicate themes of the campaign. I will also
add that the campaign address should (5) address any potential weaknesses (6)
Inspire and (7) Pay homage to history and values and (8) Stylistic elements.
Using these
elements I analyze the announcement address of Hillary Clinton on June 13 2015.
Intention to run
Hillary didn’t
directly need to indicate her intention to run because she had already done
this in an earlier video announcement. Presidential campaigning methods and
styles keep changing. This year Clinton adopted a totally different strategy by
first issuing a campaign video indicating her announcement but did not directly
engage in full-fledged rallies until June 13. Of course the reasons for this
approach are quite obvious but by June 13, everyone was quite ware of her
intentions.
Scare off opponents
I can
understand why a declaration to run will prevent others from plunging in. Some may
deem her candidature to intimidating and may surmise that they have little
chance of making it past a candidate with such prestige and reputation. This
might be especially true of Clinton. She virtually has no serious
opposition and her status as the prohibitive front runner couldn’t have been
stronger. Political observers say never before has a candidature seemed so
locked up and so predictive. However we
all knew this even before her announcement speech.
Give reasons for running
As far as Hillary
Clinton is concerned this was one of the major areas people expected her to
address in her speech. For weeks ever since announcing her intention to run,
many have complained about the lack of meat and substance in her campaign. The
narrative that Clinton had no substantial reasons for running was beginning to
take root especially within the news media and coupled with the fact that she
hadn’t been taking too many questions on the trail, Hillary really needed to do
a lot of work here. Nobody would argue that Hillary didn’t state her raison d’etre
for running. In fact they had an overdose of it. Hillary in her natural elements
is wonkish. Perhaps even more so than Obama and in a speech which was typically
Hillary Clinton there was no shortage of substance. Her reason for running was
clear, direct and straightforward. It can be summarized in the following quote:
“Prosperity can't be just for CEOs and hedge fund managers. Democracy can't be just for billionaires and corporations. (Cheers, applause.)Prosperity and democracy are part of your basic bargain too. You brought our country back. Now it's time -- your time to secure the gains and move ahead. And, you know what? America can't succeed unless you succeed. (Cheers, applause.). That is why I am running for President of the United States. (Cheers, applause, chanting.) Here, on Roosevelt Island, I believe we have a continuing rendezvous with destiny. Each American and the country we cherish. I'm running to make our economy work for you and for every American.”
To me this was the heart of the whole
speech and the paragraph that followed provided even more support for why she’s
running to be president of the United States of America.
“For the successful and the struggling. For the innovators and inventors. For those breaking barriers in technology and discovering cures for diseases. For the factory workers and food servers who stand on their feet all day. (Cheers, applause.) For the nurses who work the night shift. (Cheers, applause.) For the truckers who drive for hours and the farmers who feed us. (Cheers, applause.) For the veterans who served our country. For the small business owners who took a risk. For everyone who's ever been knocked down, but refused to be knocked out. (Cheers, applause.)I'm not running for some Americans, but for all Americans. (Cheers, applause.)”
Themes
This was a particular
great and well written speech so it wasn’t difficult to decipher the major
themes of the campaign. Hillary’s campaign
is woven around four major themes which she calls “fights”. They incude fighting for (1) make the economy work
for everyday Americans (2) strengthen
America's families
(3) American leadership (4) Government reform
Inspire
One of the areas Hillary’s
speech lacks is inspiration. Hillary gave a very solid speech in terms of
substance but it terms of the emotions, I think she could have done better. She
definitely did have some moving aspects of her speech but she needs to up this
a little bit more. Compared to previous speeches she did try to be a bit more
uplifting and it was great for her to get personal but I think she should do
more in this area. And not every speech must make people cry but for her to
inject some enthusiasm within the campaign and keep the energy going she does
need to inspire people in order to keep the campaign upbeat. Moreover elections
are about the people and arousing a nation to action. People need to have a
moving, passionate reason to keep and sustain the campaign. It’s both about the
head and the heart. When Clinton tried to inspire it was mostly about American
exceptionalism. I think she should dedicate some time as well to using her own
personal story as a girl who went from Park Ridge to Yale to the Senate to the
State Department as a totem of the American dream and as an inspiration to many
young girls just not in America but around the world.
Address potential weaknesses
Towards the end of
the speech Hillary did attempt to counter any potential weaknesses or criticism
of her campaign by saying:
Well, I may not be the youngest candidate in this race. But I will be the youngest woman President in the history of the United States! (Cheers, applause.) And the first grandmother as well. (Cheers, applause.) And one additional advantage: You're won't see my hair turn white in the White House. I've been coloring it for years! (Cheers, applause.) So I'm looking forward to a great debate among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. I'm not running to be a President only for those Americans who already agree with me. I want to be a President for all Americans.
And along the way, I'll just let you in
on this little secret. (Laughter.) I won't get everything right. Lord knows
I've made my share of mistakes. Well, there's no shortage of people pointing
them out! (Laughter.) And I certainly
haven't won every battle I've fought. But leadership means perseverance and
hard choices. You have to push through the setbacks and disappointments and
keep at it. (Cheers, applause.)
This part of speech address issues
regarding her age, gender and previous failures. A candidate doesn’t want to
dwell too much or their weakness during an announcement speech but they shouldn’t
ignore gaping concerns. The fact that Hillary acknowledges and tries to address
these concerns is commendable. However it shouldn’t earn here. She still has to
move in a direct way to address issues concerning the email flap, Clintongate,
Benghazi and her speech earnings.
History and values
Hillary did
tap into American history through her references to FDR. At certain points she
did talk about issues related to the American value system. I think she should
expand this and move beyond FDR as well. She has to come off as bi-partisan and
not just a liberal. It would be good for her to find a Republican President she
admires and for her to rump up values that appeal to not just democrats but
Americans across board.
Made use of repetition
One of the
most effective strategies of the speech in terms of style is the use of repetition.
It worked for Barack and it does work for Hillary too. Examples:
When President Obama
honored the bargain, we pulled back from the brink of Depression,When President
Clinton honored the bargain, we had the longest peacetime expansion in history,
a balanced budget, (cheers, applause) and the first time in decades we all grew
together, with the bottom 20 percent of workers increasing their incomes by the
same percentage as the top 5 percent. (Cheers, applause.)
Another example:
"I believe that success isn't measured by how much the wealthiest Americans have, but by how many children climb out of poverty... (cheers, applause) How many start-ups and small businesses open and thrive... How many young people go to college without drowning in debt... (cheers, applause) How many people find a good job... How many families get ahead and stay ahead.”
Excessive use of the words: “we”, “you”,
“us” indicating a shift in focus from Hillary to voters. It supports her theme
of inclusion.
“You worked extra shifts, took second
jobs, postponed home repairs... you figured out how to make it work. And now
people are beginning to think about their future again -- going to college,
starting a business, buying a house, finally being able to put away something
for retirement.
“We can build an economy where hard
work is rewarded. We can strengthen our families. We can defend our country and
increase our opportunities all over the world. And we can renew the promise of
our democracy.”
Personal
One of the
effective things about this speech was that it was personal. This helps to make
the candidate authentic. Hillary was speaking from her heart when she spoke
about her Mum and her own experiences after College. It fits well into her personality
as fighter. She has embraced herself and there’s no contrast between the
personal and the policy. This is good for her.
But I've spent my
life fighting for children, families, and our country. And I'm not stopping now
I think you know by now that I've been
called many things by many people (laughter) -- "quitter" is not one
of them. (Cheers, applause.) Like so much else in my life, I got this from my
mother.
Overall:
This was a strong speech by any
measure. In terms of substance and in terms of style, Hillary paid attention to
detail and met expectations to a large extent. Going forward one of the things
she should watch is to avoid being too steeped in the past. Campaigns are about
the future and any excessive focus on FDR or Bill Clinton’s legacy might
support opposition jabs that she’s a candidate of the past. She also needs to
be strategic about her association with Barack Obama. Lastly though it’s great
to provide a central argument for your campaign that’s both personal and weaves
seamlessly into the policy, I think Clinton should work on how she deploys the
memory of her mother in the campaign. At some point it does sound depressing and
this is not necessarily an experience every American can identify with. Still,
it’s nice for us to know the impetus for her candidature. Advocating for the
poor and the down trodden is definitely and honorable and worthy thing to do
with one’s life. This wasn’t a mediocre speech. It was epic to a fault; maybe
less moving and less sweeping but definitely substantive. Best wishes to Mrs.
Clinton and all the other candidates.
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