McCain Rips Off Obama's Slogan And Logo

Is John McCain trying to be the older, whiter, more conservative Barack Obama?

On Tuesday, the Senator co-opted the slogan that has come to personify Obama's candidacy, taking the Illinois Democrat's "Change You Can Believe In" and altering it into "A Leader You Can Believe In."

The line donned McCain's lime-green backdrop as he addressed supporters in Louisiana. During that speech, moreover, the Arizonan took his Obama-posing a step further, uttering the word "change" more than 30 times. Not that Obama can claim sole ownership of the word or idea, but still...

Now there is this. On Wednesday, the McCain campaign put out a new homepage, featuring his new, Obama-like slogan, and an image that seems uncannily similar to Obama's trademark campaign logo - the red and white stripped valley under what appears to be a blue sun (or in McCain's case, blue sun rays). Take a look.

McCain's seems to be positioning himself so that he is not caught, like Sen Hillary Clinton, simply ceding the mantle of change to Obama. But when the co-opting of images, logos, and slogans is this blatant, it could prove more embarrassing than advantageous.

Comments

[littlepuffycloud]

It's obvious they photo shopped the picture so his skin doesn't look like it's getting ready to shed and his choppers don't look like he borrowed them from George Washington. He's trying to look like he's a real manly man with the open shirt...oh no, that means we're likely to see shots of him fence-mending, or since he's from Arizona, maybe some tumbleweed wrangling and cactus hunting. The republicans love to put out the old manly man pictures of their candidate.

[DanoS]

There is nothing more to make a candidate look blatanly weak by coping someone else’s image and message. This will back fire on McCain and strengthen Obama core message and vision because it exposes the fact that McCain is running on Obama's core principle rather than his own.

Come on, your telling me all of a sudden a 72 year old guy is the vision of change even though he voted 95 percent of the time with Bush? Who are they trying to fool?

It makes the GOP look desperate. People will vote for the guy who embodies change, not the guy who copies it.

This is the problem with the GOP's tactics. It's old fashioned unoriginal politics. Take that awlful green billboard for instance. Who's bright idea was that? Does that look like the vision of change? It doesn't make McCain look like he is in command, it makes him look like he went along with someone elses marketing scheme. This makes McCain look clueless and out of touch, which is what he is afterall.

[jbcowan]

This just in Dano......­McCain IS "clueless and out of touch" !

And certainly too OLD to be President.

[Jay1960]

If your remember the Gore/ Bush debates, Bush would basically always agree with what Gore was saying so there was no difference between the candidates positions. His handlers made it a choice between who would you rather have a beer with. McCain lacks vision, ideas, and is caught in the Washington mindset. I think Obama if he is allowed to be himself will eat McCain's lunch. However, handlers have a way of destroying the candidates personality. Obama cannot let that happen.

[sharpz111]

The McCain campaign is about as original as Cindy McCain's recipes.

With all those MONTHS before the Democratic primary finally ended this is all the McCain campaign came up with to challenge Obama's 'Change' mantle?

'No...that­'s not fair...we'­re the change, the 'real' change, really!'

How pathetic is that? Unfortunately Obama has been saying it right from the start in early 2007.

This doesn't look like plagiarism, it is plagiarism! With this and McCain's last speech, he is going down in November. This is amateur.

[RFBorjal]

McCain's slogan and logo: No originality. Bespeaks paucity of ideas and a vacant mind.

McCain is simply reacting to Obama. Even his talking points are reactions to Obama's policy statements. It means McCain will be fighting inside Obama's territory. McCain will be routed in November.

[captRamius]

"People think the campaign’s about two competing answers to the same question. They’re not. They’re a fight over the question itself... If we keep the conversation in box number two, we win this thing."
Joshua Lyman, we salute you.

McSame's got a Daddy Problem. He can't outchange Obama. He can't run as a change candidate and be taken seriously. His only option is to go for his (and his party's) traditional iconography of toughness, strength and defence of the nation. Which worked the last twice. But this time isn't 2000 or 2004. This time, it's jobs, healthcare, economy. And above all, Change.

And Obama owns those conversations.

[RJII]

he's really old, give him a break- lol.

[BobbyOctave]

Great!
One of the things I like about Obama his ability to steer the discussion.
This is what Republicans uses to do to the Democrats.
Whenever you have to demonstrate how you are actually like your opponent, you are losing.

[tel8034]

Seems like plagerism/stealing runs in the McCain family.

Husband is stolen, medication is stolen, recipes are plagerized, now the logo and campaign slogan is stolen.

McCain calling for joint town meetings is his sneaky way of appearing in the large crowds that Obama attracts. When McCain is on his own a crowd of 100 persons is a very good night.

It's a pity that McCain does not have any ideas of his own.

The saying "IMITATION IS THE BEST FORM OF FLATTERY" is so appropriate in this case.

McCAIN IS TRYING TOO HARD TO BE OBAMA ..........­. BUT WE ARE FIRMLY BEHIND THE REAL MAN (OBAMA), AND NOT THE IMITATOR (McCAIN).

[DrCahill]

Further, McCain needs to iron his shirt!! ;)

[markusmarkus]

He didn't have time - he stole off the back of one of his constituents.

[RFBorjal]

Cindy won't do it for him. That's what he gets by marrying an heiress

[DrCahill]

Imitation IS the best form of flattery!

[laylahb]

Wasn't it supposed to be "The Change You Deserve." Oops, that was Effexor. I guess Cindy ripped those off too, or was it Oxycontin.
Now it's "A Leader You Can Believe In." Looks great in green. Another ripoff.
Yet another ripoff--the screen design. Too bad most of his peeps still use manual typewriters.

Does this guy have even one original idea?

[folksonomy]

The font looks like Trebuchet, which makes it look like a PowerPoint presentation, not a well-designed web site. Clonky looking at best. It felt weird perusing his web site. Time to go take a shower now, ugh.

[Preya]

I think he took Hillary's "change you can xerox" line a little too literally.

[KWiz]

Isn't this called plagiarism? And isn't it illegal? We kick out students in colleges and universities for such behavior, yet is someone going to call McCain out on it? I'd venture to think that Obama's campaign is figuring out a way to deal with this, and it will come out in one of these "town hall" meetings. At which time Obama will blow McCain out of the water, because surely McCain can't plagiarize Obama's words right in front of everyone now, can he?

[folksonomy]

I lol'd.

[folksonomy]

Well, I DID lol, but this was meant to be a comment to a comment. My apologies.

[folksonomy]

The red and white picnic table stripes are there to make you think about placing one of Cindy McCain's "family recipe" dishes. Remember those web pages?

[watchingthings]

He should get himself a slogan that mentions war [his favorite sport] a couple of times. Maybe then he can get some followers to go along with him on the need to keep warmongering.

[Dianekkdi]

There ya go!: War For Wages--Employment for every ambulatory girl and boy!

He'll give your child a job. Trauma care health benefits--(long term care negotiable). Death benefits--­(non-trans­ferable. conditions apply). A place to rest in peace.

What more can a parent ask for?

yippie.

[Daly]

He is also paying both sides in iraq - We pay the guys that fight with us and the ones that fight againstus.

We are currently in talks with Iraq to stay 100 years like Mc wants but the Iraqi people want us to go ASAP. Iraq Government give Iran prez royal treatment when he visits. When Bush, Mc, Cheney visit they typically sneak into the country and have to be protected. Here is a nice shot of McCain and his idea of improvement in Bagdad.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/01/mccain-iraq-stroll/