Democrats,
No, I'm not going jive on you. You is better than me. When running for office (or, in fact, leading any organization), people utilize different levels of leadership in an effort to more effectively connect with their target audiences. During campaigns, voters have the ability to sense the level of leadership a candidate has mastered. And this matters, big time.
What do levels of leadership have to do with you being better than me? A lot -- and they're already having an effect on the 2008 primaries and presidential race. But before we jump right into the current races, it's important to see how leadership levels, and you and me, have played a critical role in prior elections...
A Look Back
The 2000 Election (Bush v. Gore) key messages:
* George W. Bush ran on a lot of ideas (compassionate conservatism, lower taxes, unity [ha!]), but his campaign could be summed up as "I'm the guy who's more or less just like you, so of course I'll represent you the best in the White House."
* Al Gore ran on a lot of ideas as well, which can be summed up as "I'm more responsible than Clinton, and I'm just plain smarter than Bush."
Revelation: For every "I" in Bush's message, there is a corresponding "you." Compare this to Gore's message of "me, them, me, them." Gore completely left you, the voter, out of the message. This can be boiled down to Bush's you-first message competing with Gore's me-first message. Guess which message voters preferred?
The big idea here is that one candidate had the confidence and wherewithal to always remember who he was courting, and was able to keep his head above water. People see this as a signal of superior confidence and leadership skills. And in national politics, these feelings can trump specific policy platforms (read this sentence a few more times, Democrats).
Now, onto the 2004 Election (Bush v. Kerry) key messages:
* George W. Bush ran on "I'll keep you safe."
* Kerry ran on "I'm ready for duty, and I'm just plain smarter than Bush."
You're smart. You see the pattern. Bush is still linking himself with you in his message, and the Democrat, predictably, is still all about "me, me, me!" (Yes, we all know that Bush vaguely, barely and shoddily won each race, but Gore and Kerry should have wiped the electoral map with Bush's gaffes and inexplicable track record.)
Onto the Democratic Primaries
So, how do the Democratic candidates measure up to the you is better than me leadership approach?
Hillary Clinton (primarily) focuses on the predictable Democratic message of "me"...
* I'll be ready on day one
* I am more experienced
* I am a woman
Yet, she also has some "you" messages as well...
* I'm going to worry about you every day
* I'm going to fight for you
* I care about you and your troubles
Yes, Hillary's you-first messages are bit depressing (which is another traditional Democrat message pitfall), but at least she has a few you messages in her collection.
Barack Obama (primarily) focuses on a less conventional message of "we"...
* Together, we can change America
* We are the ones we've been waiting for
Yet, Obama also has a secondary batch of message, which are of the "me" variety...
* I did not vote for the war
* I will bring people together
* I will change the tone in Washington
Like Hillary, Barack tries to focus on his primary message points whenever possible, but will fall back into his secondary messages when under the gun.
So, where do they stand? The answer lies in a simple leadership level calculus: You > We > Me. Simply put, you-first messages are stronger than we-first messages, are both are stronger than me-first messages.
There are serious implications for the Democratic primaries if we agree this calculus to be accurate.
To learn more on how this leadership calculus can be used by Hillary to overtake Obama, and to see how Hillary and Obama fare against McCain using this very same calculus, please visit (and support) the source of this insight: http://OurKarlRove.com