The Winning Frame has Emerged

In the wake of John McCain's 'pig' ploy scandal, I wanted to draw attention to a new frame that is taking shape at break neck speed in the debate.

I call this the 'Solve Real Problems' frame and it has the potential to set the stage for Democrats to win the election.

Sometimes, people think of framing in Presidential elections as a tug of war. We set our frame, they set theirs -- whichever side pulls the hardest wins.

In fact, the more accurate metaphor is that of a chess game. Each side sets out to establish a broad, opening frame, but through a series of middle ground debates, the election ultimately arrives at an end frame--a final, compelling way to re-establish one side's opening frame, and which ultimately captures enough people's imagination to win the most votes.

In 2004, we saw this when Bush's 'Ownership Society' emerged as the 'It's Your Money' frame.

'Solve Real Problems' is a pragmatic end frame emerging right now (for a full discussion of 'pragmatism' see the conclusion of Outright Barbarous). If activists recognize it and push it hard, we have the potential to turn the gains in this campaign into an election victory in November.

Opening Frames: 'American Dream' and 'Hope'
The 2008 election started out with multiple competing frames from Democrats and Republicans. The largest opening frames, however, came from the Clinton campaign and the Obama Campaign.

From the start, Clinton set the idea of restoring the 'American Dream,' and idea that was fundamentally economic. During the course of the primary, Clinton arrived at a new way to express her opening frame by talking about 'the invisible.' It was a very convincing idea, particularly as the economy went south. Despite the ideological statements of the Republicans, a majority of Americans felt that the economy had left them behind and that nobody cared about their troubles. The 'American Dream' frame became 'the invisible' and Hillary Clinton won millions of votes as a result.

The Obama campaign offered a different opening frame in the idea of 'Hope.' In many ways, 'Hope' was a much stronger frame than 'American dream' because it spoke to larger questions about the future of the country as a whole. By talking about 'Hope,' Obama was talking about American idealism beyond the mechanics of building family wealth. 'Hope' was also a more forward looking frame because it implicitly acknowledged new challenges that Americans face--such as global warming, conservation, technology, international interdependence, and so forth. The 'American Dream,' was more nostalgic. The problem with 'Hope' as we discovered in the primary, was that it was difficult to re-emphasize in terms of the economy when that became the key issue in the primaries. The middle ground framing of 'more people participating' that was so successful for Obama in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, became less successful for his campaign in Pennsylvania. The better frame in idealistic terms, 'Hope' did not readily present a way to ground that idealism in the concrete issues that contingency was forcing into the election.

Obama won the nomination, but the sense coming out of that long contest was that he was left with a very big challenge of finding an economic foundation for his 'hope' frame. And even by the time of the DNC, it did not seem like that new frame had emerged quite yet.

McCain's 'Warrior' becomes 'Culture War'
In the aftermath of the RNC and the firestorm surrounding the nomination of Sarah Palin, the McCain campaign made it clear that they had no real middle ground frame to advance their opening 'warrior statesman' frame that they had unrolled early in the Republican primary.

Instead of unrolling a new frame that re-emphasized some aspect of McCain's militaristic logic, the McCain camp used the RNC to revert back to other Republican framing efforts that sought to frame 'conservative' in terms of 'small town values.' As a result, the McCain campaign went into the RNC pushing a strong militaristic theme, but they emerged pushing most of the old framing associated with the 'culture war.' The theme of 'war' remained, but with Sarah Palin on the ticket, the idea of a military warrior had officially given way to the old concept of a social or cultural warrior.

The key sign that this new middle ground had eroded the gains made by McCain's early framing were obvious. Suddenly, the media was obsessing over topics like Sarah Palin's church, pregnancy and abortion, and book censorship. All of these topics emerged at some point in the pre-convention primary, but they were always overshadowed by the McCain campaign emphasizing 'experience'--by which they meant 'military experience in a time of war.'

The culmination of the RNC framing switch happened this week when the McCain campaign accused Obama of 'sexism.' Many people hear this and they get confused because they think that this kind of attack is similar to late 1980s critiques of sexist language by liberals. In fact, it has nothing to do with that liberal thinking. Calling Barack Obama a 'sexist' was the first attempt by the McCain campaign to re-emphasize their new 'culture war' frame that they set in the RNC.

Right after the accusation of 'sexism,' McCain unleashed an ad accusing Obama of wanting to force young children to learn about sex in school--the familiar 'liberal debauchery' frame used for a decade by right-wing pundits to develop the 'culture war' frame.

'Hope' Becomes 'Solve Real Problems'
What is fascinating about McCain abandoning his initial 'warrior' frame for the older 'culture war' frame is not just the high level of smears and cynicism it introduced into the media, but what new language it sparked in the Obama camp.

Right from the start, the reaction to the 'culture war' framing from McCain was not to fight on the 'culture war' grounds, but (1) to accuse the McCain campaign of telling 'lies,' and (2) to emphasize that the McCain camp was impeding a more important conversation about 'solving real problems.'

Now, in general, the first step did not make much sense on its own in terms of framing for one Presidential campaign to accuse another Presidential campaign of telling 'lies.' To take that route is not really framing so much as announcing that there is a campaign (e.g., it's like saying 'I disagree with my opponent's campaign against me.'). But, when connected to the second step, it did make sense. By defining the McCain 'culture war' attacks as 'lies,' the Obama camp deflected those points and stepped immediately into the act of re-stating their opening 'hope' frame in new terms germane to the moment: 'solve real problems'

In one sense, 'solve real problems' is just old fashioned American pragmatism. In a much more profound sense, however, 'solve real problems' is a restating of the initial themes of the Obama campaign, but in quantitative, rather than qualitative terms.

Keep in mind that one of the initial themes of the Obama campaign is the transcendence of party allegiance in favor of facing solutions that we all face--a basic 'unity' frame. Also keep in mind that one of the obstacles the Obama camp faced after the Democratic primary was an inability to connect with voters primarily concerned with economic issues--primarily taxes.

Suddenly, following a week of relentless 'culture war' attacks form the McCain campaign, the entire media is shifting to a new line of discussion: the idea that these attacks from the McCain campaign impede the pragmatic conversation about getting things done.

Conclusion: Pragmatism is a Fundamentally American Idiom
As for the McCain campaign, having invested 100% of his framing in the old 'culture war' concept--particularly by his nomination of Sarah Palin--McCain has embraced ideological attacks over pragmatic problem solving. And from now until November, if McCain continues to re-emphasize the 'culture war' frame, by the debates the electorate will be so tired of squabbling over cultural issues that they will be clamoring for discussion of 'real' problems and 'real' concerns.

What I emphasize in the conclusion of Outright Barbarous, and what I also see in this phase of the 2008 Presidential election is a re-voicing of 'pragmatism' as a central concern amongst American voters. Pragmatism--a desire to understand and 'solve real problems'--is always present in the minds of Americans, but it quickly gets buried by violent and salacious rhetoric in the debate. Now that pragmatism is upon us again, and Democrats would be smart to see it, and really run with it from now until November. 'Solve real problems' is not just a theme du jour in the media. It is the core America worldview and the full realization of the early framing of the Obama campaign. It is the rhetorical path to victory for Democrats in November.

Follow Jeffrey Feldman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JeffreyFeldman

Comments

[vegangoddess]

Barack has always been the pragmatist, often to the chagrin of his most ardent supporters. His stance on the 2nd amendment, his FISA vote (which we all know now was a way to get SOMEThing on the table that he can later correct as POTUS),. His campaign financing decision. His decision (along with the Dem congressfolks) to have limited and strategic oil drilling so that we can get the other alternative ideas pushed through with the bill.

I have always trusted his decisions and feel very confident that he thinks them through and uses his intellect and his intution. Young people, this is YOUR election. I'm 50 and Clinton was our guy to really rally behind and we ALL had a great 8 years with him at the helm. As we all know JFK inspired the youth of his day.

We MUST FINALLY break this oil addiction. I remember debating alternative energy in my senior high debate team competition. We debated Solar, Wind, Coal, etc. and here we are 32 years later and STILL debating about the two natural resources that are infinite...sun and wind. If they die, WE die.So let's put this FINITE source, oil, to rest.

This is not just about reforming government this is about our FUTURE. Your future, my future, my kid's future and my new grandbaby's future. Barack Obama is the future!

[CaptainVideo]

I agree that the ENOUGH frame should be used. It is a further development of the original change message. Solve real problems can be subsumed under it.

ENOUGH with the phony red herrings. Solve real problems.

[Faith101]

Another 4000 jobs loss today this time it was Ford in Michigan. There is no way Michigan should reward the republicans another shot at the white house after losing over 605,000 jobs in the last 7 years. This is crazy. I would vote them out so fast, it would make their head spend. Michigan & Ohio are some of the hardest hits for job loss. They should be totally behind Obama to ensure that the middle class has a voice again, because they have gotten swamped. Obama really does have a good plan for the middle class. In this day and time, unions is going to be your best shot.

[CitizenInformed]

Based on 2004 and recent news, my guess is that we have a large percentage of the electorate that may not be very pragmatic at all. However, even the clueless may realize that they are worse off than 8 years ago and that the country is going in the wrong direction. Obama’s recent frame that is a real winner is...

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!

Enough....shrinking of the middle class!
Enough....stepping on our civil liberties!
Enough....­fear-monge­ring!
Enough....voter suppression!
Enough....­emphasizin­g war and not even having the decency to take care of our soldiers!
Enough....­incompeten­ce in the White House!
Enough....pitting one group of Americans against another!
Enough....letting the insurance companies control who gets what healthcare!
Enough....­procrastin­ating with taking the lead in a new green economy that creates US jobs!
Enough…isolating ourselves from our foreign allies with cowboy rhetoric and preemptive wars!
Enough....being embarrassed to admit being American when traveling abroad!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!

Vote for Obama/Biden '08!

[CaptainVideo]

I think the ENOUGH frame is the way to go becuse it is based and builds on the previous winning message of change. This frame can then be built on and elaborated on as needed by the particular situation being addressed.

Solve real problems is not inspiring enough to serve as the basic frame but can be included under the Enough frame. Example:

Enough... phony red herrings; offer solutions to real problems.

[DoTheMath]

For me, the hope and change themes have always included the power to solve real problems. Obama spoke to those of us who have been frustrated about the way our political process has failed us.

Our government has worked for the corporations and the wealthy, but not for us. The same vested interests that benefit disproportionately from "trickle-down," "free-market," "deregulated" economic policies overwhelm our political process with enough money to buy people's thoughts, using the same psychological manipulation they use to sell us everything else.

Enter Obama, the community organizer, the constitutional scholar, the man with the audacity to tell us, not what he can do for us, but what we can do for ourselves. We believe him because we KNOW it's true. We know how to work. We know our country is broken, and no one else is going to fix it for us. No one else CAN fix it for us.

Obama won the primary because millions of us did whatever we could to make it happen.

The Obama campaign has always been about solving real problems. Without hope, we never would have tried.

[KeithBernhard]

This is an interesting approach - pragmatism - a distinctly American philosophy (espoused by William James) - it also can dovetail nicely with the message of change and hope - recall James' essay "The Will to Believe" - the thumbnail version is that when reason brings you to a point where its dictates are non-conclusive (an intellectual dead end, so to speak) - the thinker is faced with a choice - A Genuine Option - one which is live, forced, and momentus...at that point the thinker must Will to Believe that his choice is the right one...it's sort of like stealing second base (an option built into America's National Pasttime) - in a way, America is the country that steals second base - Obama's approach to the issues is wonderfully pragmatic, I think - and if anyone saw the McCain interview with the local Maine newscaster, choosing which candidate will "win" the debate(s) is not A Genuine Option....

[SailFree]

Rats! I can't type on this Mac keyboard.

[SailFree]

You can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the peolesome of the time; you can't fool all of the people all of the time. But I coulc fool enough of the people enough of the time. Obama can't.
--Bill Clinton

Just imagining a little honesty here.

[milo9]

The Sarah Palin narrative just took a downward turn. When asked a question about Israel, she kept repeating herself like a broken record. She appeared to be a little wind up doll. She only has so much room upstairs. It would explain her repetition of the Bridge to Nowhere story long after everyone knew it was a LIE.

[barackobama4prez]

Will the pumas get mad and say O stole HRC's solutions for america?

[Obama08Supporter]

I don't know, will you keep attempting to push the dems apart? Yes! Will it work? Hell no!

[CaptainVideo]

Who cares what the Puma's do. If they think that when a woman is raped and gets pregnant the government should force her to carry the preganacy to term, as Sarah Palin does, they are a lost cause.

[Territc]

You need to put this Hillary and Obama conflict to bed. We have gone past this and are now in Presidential Campaign mode. Stop trying to create problems where they are none. You must be a closet Republican. A true Obama supporter knows the focus.

[CarbonDate]

The culture wars need to be framed as a battle between those who would let people live their own lives in peace and those who would tell everybody else who to live their lives. We know how that would sit with many Americans' sensibilities.

[Richard22]

Americans know that if the people leading the "culture wars" battle win, America loses. Like it or not, we live in an interdependent world, and successful participation in the global economy requires a fully engaged America, with equal rights and equal pay for all, respect for diversity in all its forms. "Small-town values" may be Republican code for a nostalgic vision of an all-white, Christian nation. But it's the Democrats who are preserving the real "small-town values;" respect for all, fair pay, improved education and healthcare, conservation of the environment and the earth's resources, strong moral leadership, and a foreign policy based on alliances and shared democratic values.

[GreyFlcn]

We need both Emotion and Reason!
Least thats how this Nueroscientists / Political Activist sees it.

Way I see it, George Lakoff is the Democrats version of Rove.

He understands how voters tick.
More than that, he actually knows why.
http://www.amazon.com/Political-Mind-Understand-21st-Century-18th-Century/dp/0670019275

[beaupritchard]

I like the idea of picking the ground you're going to make your stand on. Does "he'd be best for the country(in­tellectual­)" pragmatism trump visceral "he's not like us(cultural)" ism ... I'm not sure.

How does Obama in addition to the pragmatic "if you are unhappy with the way things are vote for change" message say "I'm just like you".

Th eclosest he's come to making that connection was when he sank the three point shot. Sports figures coming out to endorse him maybe ... actors ... other politicians ... but more to the point suburban urban farm and ranch. A kaleidoscope of people used to intentionally not seeing the difference the McCain crowd is trying to emphasize(race).

Maybe a 527 ad morphing all the different kind of faces one by one ... each one declaring "I am an american".

[evekendall]

Maybe each one of the different faces declaring "I am an American...and I support Barack Obama."

[kauffmanr]

i like the pragmatism argument as long as we dont devolve into wonkish long winded explanations that put people to sleep. as long we keep it simple it will work:

"they are telling you lies and distracting us from real work!"

[syllepsis]

"That is exactly what they're doing- and robbing us all while they're at it!"

[milo9]

I think you're spot on Jeffrey! But where's the damn lipstick?