I recently watched the documentary The War Room, an inside look at the presidential campaign of Bill Clinton in 1992, when he ran against incumbent George H. W. Bush. I was surprised by how many parallels I saw to Barack Obama's current campaign against John McCain.
A crucial theme of the 1992 election was change vs. more of the same. Clinton was the vigorous proponent of change while Bush supported his policies of conservatism. Although neither candidate is an incumbent in the 2008 election, McCain settles into that role much more comfortably. As a member of the ruling party for the past eight years and a strong supporter of most of the incumbent president's policies, McCain (like Bush 41) is essentially the status quo candidate while Obama (like Clinton) is the change candidate.
Another prevalent theme was experience vs. youth. Bush touted his experience as a seasoned veteran in the ways of Washington and criticized Clinton as a newcomer, just as McCain doing to Obama now. As Clinton did, Obama is seizing on Americans' thirst for change, exclaiming that he offers a fresh perspective and a different vision for the country.
As Bush did, McCain is playing on the fears on Americans. As Clinton did, Obama is invoking hope. Bush and McCain tried to paint their opponent as weak and unprepared for the dangerous world; Clinton and Obama emphasized diplomacy and rebuked their opponents for practicing the politics of fear.
On the economy, Clinton and Obama both advocate for 'bottom-up' economics, while Bush and McCain stress the effectiveness of 'trickle down.'
Like Bush did, McCain has run a negative, character-based campaign, attacking Obama for his past mistakes and his associations. Just as Clinton told people "it's the economy, stupid," Obama has done a remarkable job of pushing back on ad hominem attacks and bringing the focus back to the issues that affect people. Both Clinton and Obama spoke eloquently against the politics of attack and accused their opponents of being out of touch with the real problems of everyday Americans.
2008 Barack is astoundingly reminiscent of 1992 Bill. They are both relatively new to the national stage. They are both young, progressive, eloquent and charismatic. They are both Ivy League sophisticates and remarkably intelligent individuals. They both chose to run positive campaigns about issues, invoking the hopes of Americans and capitalizing on their thirst for change. They are running against a similar beast- an old, experienced conservative who is reckless on foreign policy, favors the status quo, campaigns on venomous personal attacks and views his opponent with scorn and contempt.
The only similarity we have yet to establish is whether the Barack of 2008, just as the Bill of 1992 did, will destroy his opponent in a landslide.