Obama's Message Box Grand Slam

"It's going... it's going... it's GONE!"

Here in the closing days of the election, in front of more than 100,000 people in Denver, Colorado, Barack Obama has made one of the most brilliant rhetorical moves I've seen in politics. It's an endgame move, one that is best suited for these single-digit days before the election. Referring to his opponent's economic policy, Obama said that the Bush years have been an 8-year experiment in what McCain is proposing economically. He then uses the "experiment" metaphor to proclaim that McCain's economic approach has "been tested" and "found wanting." That might seem like just another eloquent turn of phrase, but here's the case for why it's the most significant rhetorical construction of the campaign.

Message Box: The Baseball Diamond of Politics

On its own the construction above is impressive, but to appreciate how this rhetorical move is a "home run," you need to consider the following basic campaign principle.

Lesson #1 for any aspiring candidate or campaign person is what we call "the message box." The message box is to politics what the Punnett square is to genetics, and it works in nearly the same way. Imagine a large box divided into four smaller boxes--just like a Four Square chalk drawing on the playground blacktop. The square charts the intersection of four campaign variables:

1. What you say about you*
2. What you say about your opponent
3. What your opponent says about you
4. What your opponent says about your opponent

*for clarity and parallelism, I have deliberately avoided the reflexive pronouns required by these constructions (sometimes being an English teacher is a major liability).

For the Obama vs. McCain contest, the message box has been pretty stable and easy to recognize. I am sure you could fill it in yourself:

1. Obama says he is "The Change We Need" or "Change We Can Believe In."
2. Obama says McCain is "More of The Same" or that he "Voted With Bush 90% of the time."
3. McCain says Obama is "Not Ready," "Risky," or "Untested" (the McCain camp has been undisciplined about this square in the box, veering off into "Palling Around With Terrorists," and "Socialism/Socialist;" they have since noted that this isn't working and they are back on track).
4. McCain says McCain puts "Country First" and is a "Maverick."

The Grand Slam

So in honor of the World Series, I compare this rhetorical positioning to a "grand slam" in baseball. A grand slam, of course, is a home run that is hit when the bases are loaded. A grand slam scores you four runs: one for the hitter, and one for each of the runners on first, second, and third.

• First, it begins with Obama's strength, his percieved advantage on the economy.
• Second, it underscores his core message of change from the past 8 years.
• Third, it further ties McCain to Bush and the past 8 years.
• Fourth, it re-frames McCain's stated strength of being "tested;" the connotation of "tested" moves from "trusted and dependable" to "a failed experiment."