Summary
The 44th President of the U.S was Barack Hussein Obama. He was initially elected on November 4, 2008, and the following year January, he was sworn into office. On November 6, 2012, Obama was re-elected to a second term (Endres, 2020). For Americans and the rest of the globe, November 4, 2008, was a pivotal day. For many, this day demonstrated that the American ideal is still alive and well. When Barrack Hussein Obama won with 365 votes against John, McCain, who had 173 votes, that was the first time in the history of America that an Afro-American candidate became US president (Endres, 2020), this paper is based on how Barack Hussein Obama made it into office despite the strong competition and the fact that 40 years ago, the nation was experiencing a major problem of racial segregation.
Campaign Strategies and Theme
The desire for change was Obama’s overriding campaign message for the citizens of the United States. Obama’s change had two policies that include: first, he wanted to bring a change in the White House by replacing the falling administration of Bush with a democratic president. Obama’s presidency also signified a shift in how Washington operated. Secondly, replacing the existing divisive with a more cooperative one under his regime. Lobbyists’ overbearing influence in the state legislature should be substituted with greater regard for the public interest. As a result, Obama concluded that Americans were dissatisfied not only with the existing administration of Bush but also with the character of politics in Washington.
To make his strategies work, Obama needed to connect McCain to the Bush administration’s shortcomings. This connection was made in part because McCain was a nominee of the Republican party. In the mind of the US citizens, McCain was associated with the existing regime of Bush; this is because he was representing the same party as the president. This was a limitation to McCain because the Bush regime was loathed by many.
Furthermore, McCain’s policy stances were often identical to those of President Bush, providing even another link between the two men. Obama’s approach was to as closely as possible equate McCain with Bush. Obama’s theme of change also entailed changes in public policy that were aimed at benefitting the citizens of the US. During his campaign, Obama proposed comprehensive healthcare reforms, he also suggested some of the measures that lead to change in the economy, particularly in the areas of environmental protection and consumption of energy. Lastly, he also proposed higher taxes for the wealthy, offset by tax relief for the poor. In terms of national security and foreign policy, he advocated for rapidly lowering force numbers in Iraq and focusing more on winning the Afghanistan war.
Obama’s portrayal as an agent of change was made easier by the fact that he had not been a member of Congress for several years. Nevertheless, this strategy also exposed him to the charge that he lacked the necessary expertise for the presidency. As a result, a key component of his campaign approach was to reassure Americans that he was up to the task and that he possessed the knowledge, judgment, and temperament necessary to be a great leader. Obama’s campaign approach involves a concentrated effort to form strong campaign organizations across the state. He employed this tactic to defeat the Democrat candidate, and Obama continued to use it during the campaign for president, especially in important states. Casting aside government assistance for his campaign for president in preference of raising his own funds was one part of this strategy. Obama was a huge success at it, providing him with significantly more resources than his opponent, McCain, who depended on taxpayer money. Despite the fact that Obama was admonished for being the first presidential candidate to decline support from the public for the main election, it appeared that few individuals were concerned.
Fundraising
Obama had innovative ways of raising funds; this was also a greater contributive factor to his victory. With the help of the internet, Obama was able to make significant funds of $750 million from various individuals, for instance, donors who supported the democrats (Fauzan, 2018). Individual contributions accounted for 88 percent of the funds raised, with the remainder coming from various sources such as political action committee (PAC) contributions, federal funding, and candidate self-financing (Fauzan, 2018). Additionally, Obama was able to surpass McCain on grassroots mobilization and media advertising by forgoing federal campaign subsidies.
Target Demography
Since the year 1996, Obama has been determined to help the citizens of the United States in a way that is more effective and promotes cohesion. Because of his developmental and optimistic beliefs, he was voted in as a senator to represent the state of Illinois. He furthered his campaign after realizing that the citizens of the United States needed a change in the direction of the nation that was not ruled according to their favor by the ruling government. The election campaign was all about change, not expertise. The effort was entirely focused on gaining as many votes as possible rather than on mental excellence or expertise. It was aimed at upsetting the traditional manner of governing the country or raising citizens’ standards, but it also promised brighter days ahead. Not necessarily going back to the good old days, but looking forward to a brighter future than the past decades.
Influence on Barack Obama’s Success
For several reasons, the United States presidential election conducted in the year 2008 was momentous and was watched worldwide. His campaign made extraordinary use of grassroots in promoting voter participation, creating support networks, and collecting finances, and it did it with the help of the aid of Internet technology. This illustrates how the opponents of Obama only relied on the use of modern, old-school ways of doing their campaign. Because he was not the front-runner, Obama had to find new strategies to connect with people in order to win. The Obama campaign’s greatest strength, neighborhood connection, is emphasized through the use of social media. The media also was contributed in various ways; through the technology, Obama was able to raise funds for his campaigns and as well reach voters.
In the achievement of the best results, there was the utilization of the existing social connections and social connections. Among the social media sites that were used was my.barackobama.com, in addition to other profiles that were created on various sites to enable the success of the campaign (Petre, 2018). There were several profiles that were formed on various platforms in aid of the campaign for Obama as the best candidate. The profiles were created on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and Obama’s supporters were active and had more views.
Barack Obama’s Success
Barack Obama was re-elected as the president of the United State after a hard-fought presidential campaign, this was after winning sizeably in the electoral college and narrowly in the popular vote. From the core of his coalition, Obama was able to win massively from the outpouring of votes. He was supported by minorities, individuals from low-income families, single women, and the youths. In the 2012 elections, individuals under the age of 30 years had a higher turnout as compared to the year 2008. Additionally, Obama’s 2012 victory was also determined by the votes of the Latinos who voted for Obama by a massive 71 percent to 24 percent majority (Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media Staff, 2022). In 2008, white voters made up 74 percent of the electorate, while in 2012 they made up 72 percent (Abramowitz, 2018). The demographic transition continues on its relentless path. The winning Obama alliance was thinner in numerous ways than it was 4 years ago.
In conclusion, Obama’s success as a presidential candidate was because of several factors that began before his first election as the 44th president of the United States. Some of the strategies that most citizens of the United States agreed on was presenting himself as a candidate of change, where he was to change various social, political, and economic ways within the US. The people of the United State also believed in him because he was a new leader and aspiring leader who has not been present in congress and therefore, he was not associated with the Bush regime. During his campaign, there were also other contributory factors such as the existence of proper funds that he was able to outsource from various donors, small and big dollars. Lastly, the internet through social media also played an important role in waging a campaign that was aimed at promotion of the policies that Obama promised to achieve.
References
Abramowitz, A. I. (2018). Great Alignment. In Great Alignment. Yale University Press. Web.
Endres, K. (2020). Targeted Issue Messages and Voting Behavior. American Politics Research, 48(2).
Fauzan, A. (2018). Obama’s Campaign Strategies in Winning the United States Presidential Election to the Collecting Funds Through the Use of Media in the Year 2018. Majalah Ilmiah UNIKOM, 16. Web.
Petre, E. A. (2018). Encouraging Identification with the Larger Campaign Narrative: Grassroots Organizing Texts in Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Campaign. Communication Quarterly, 66(3). Web.
Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media Staff (2022).2012 vs. 2008: A Different View of Obama. Web.