As US President Barack Obama begins his second term, he needs a simple way to express his vision and policies for the economy – a metaphor around which support for his policies might crystallize, thereby boosting his administration’s political effectiveness.
So, what makes a successful metaphor work?
The 2008 Obama campaign used the slogan “Change we can believe in.”
But “change” is not a metaphor for a new government: it does not stand for any policies.
Nor does “Hope” or “Yes we can!”
The 2012 Obama campaign used the one-word slogan “Forward!”
Once again, it signifies nothing about policies or their underlying philosophy. Every politician, whether liberal or conservative, wants to move forward, not backward.
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