Every time Hillary argues 'experience', Barack should retort 'consensus'. Consensus as a driver of change is infinitely more powerful and compelling than experience. - Mr. Inspired, London, UK. Jan 2008.
Ask the average American voter what the differences in policy are between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and I’m betting that most could not really give much of an answer. Barack wants to improve the economy, Hillary wants to improve the economy, Barack wants to fix healthcare, Hillary wants to fix healthcare, Barack wants ethics reform and energy and environment policies and an improvement in education. Hillary wants all those things too.
The difference is in the details, the minutiae of how they plan to go about achieving their stated objectives. But I believe that the average American voter doesn’t delve too deeply into the specifics of each candidate’s policy and plan for their presidency.
So, how do voters differentiate then, and decide between the two candidates. Likeability is one big factor. Barack Obama is very likeable, but then most democrats love Bill Clinton, Hillary gets a free ride on that and of course there are many that find her ‘likeable enough’ too.
I’m guessing then that for many voters, the decision comes down to the central tenet of each candidate’s campaign. For Obama that is ‘hope’, for Clinton it is ‘experience’
Hillary Clinton has been bashing away at Obama accusing him of peddling ‘false hopes’ and stating that she has the greater experience to deliver change. If she succeeds in winning the nomination for the Democratic party it will be because she was succeeded in swaying ordinary voters minds by convincing them that she offers true experience and Barack offers ‘false hopes’, and that he’s not ready for the White House.
Barack needs to counter, and counter heavily, by nullifying Hillary’s ‘experience’ message. How can he do that? This is I think how…
Barack should add a powerful new mantra to his existing mantras of hope and change, and that is consensus.
The reality is that true change in America requires more than just hope, belief or even experience. It requires consensus. To achieve consensus, America needs a president that has the ability to work across party lines in order to build broad coalitions. Bill Clinton's most telling legacy was that was able to fix and improve the economy, but from what I understand, he also campaigned on the mantra of 'change' during his run to the presidency. What real change was he able to bring to America in healthcare, energy and the environment, education, immigration and ethics? From what I understand, not that much. Why not? Because he too was a polarizing figure who was generally hated by republicans, he wasn't able to work across party lines to build the broad consensus required to implement change.
So therein lies the rub. Hillary Clinton might also do a fantastic job of improving and fixing the economy, but other than that, just how exactly is Hillary Clinton going to achieve real change? Republicans hate her just as much as they hate Bill, she seems to be an even more polarizing figure than him. Voters need to understand that no matter how much experience Hillary Clinton may or may not have, she will never be able to effect true change in America because it is very unlikely she will ever be able to build the consensus that is required for true change. If Americans really want change in America, they only have one choice. They have to choose a person who has a proven record in reaching across party lines in order to reform the death penalty law in Chicago, and again to bring in ethics reform. They have to vote for a person who, through the mighty power of words, has the ability to motivate and inspire people who normally would never dream of working with their declared 'opponent', to inspire them to work together.
There is only one person who can truly build consensus in today's America, and that is Barack Obama.
It's really a simple message, but I believe that if the majority of Americans were to get that message, were to digest it and truly understand it, Hillary Clinton wouldn't stand a chance of making it back into the White House.
What do you think? Being an outsider looking in on the cauldron that is American election campaigning, I believe that 'consensus' should be the next and new mantra that Barack Obama should be driving into the minds of voters. Certainly if I was a Hillary Clinton supporter and I got that message, I would think twice about voting for her.
