Barack Obama’s visit to Europe this week is rightly dominating the news agenda. As I have made quite clear in the past, I think that Obama is one of the most exciting political figures to emerge for a generation or more and his election as President would go some way towards healing the deep divisions that have affected American society since Watergate (and particularly in the past 16 years) as well as restoring the slightly tarnished image of the United States around the globe. The fact that Obama is able to give his acceptance speech in a “football” stadium with a capacity of 72,000 is testament to the electrifying effect his candidacy has had on politics. We have to remember, however, that this blog is primarily designed to focus on British politics from a liberal Conservative standpoint. Obama’s visit should be used to consider how we can learn from his candidancy to similarly electrify politics on this side of the pond.
One thing that is particularly notable about Barack’s Presidential bid so far, alongside the phenomenal oratory, is the ability to reach out to people who have previously not been involve in the political process. To use the messy jargon of the moment, he has succeeded in engaging the disengaged. This hasn’t happened through a Blearsesque promise of free doughnuts for becoming involved. It has happened because Obama has managed to define politics, once more, as something that can make a difference and genuinely improve people’s lives. Political life, for too long, had been dominated by negativity and what could not be done. Obama has managed to turn that round to show how politics can be a positive pursuit, providing hope and optimism. We need to learn from this and continue, as David Cameron has done, to make our pronouncements focused on what our policies can do to make people’s lives better. Optimism rather than negativity must be our relentless focus.
We can also learn from the emphasis on “post partisanship” that has so far been a particular hallmark of the Obama v McCain race. As David Cameron made clear when he was elected, people are sick and tired of petty partisan sniping – brought into stark focus by the behaviour of Brown and his acolytes. They want a politics that makes a difference to them, without indulging in partisanship or “punch and judy politics” for the sake of it. Of course, our Conservatism is important but we must not let excessive partisanship put off the public or increase people’s disengagement with politics. Thirdly, the Obama campaign is the best example yet of a strong grassroots driven political campaign, with an emphasis on mass membership. The value of “feet on the ground” and, more and more, visibility on electronic mediums cannot be underestimated. We need to strive to ensure that our Party is a strong, mass membership organisation, outbattling and out representing our rivals in every corner of the modern, electronic political battlefield.
So as Obama visits Europe, there are three pretty clear lessons to learn from his electrifying campaign. Emphasise the positive difference we can make to people’s lives; don’t indulge in partisan sniping for the sake of it; and build a modern campaigning movements on a strong mass membership party with a strong electronic presence. A modern Conservative Party is learning all of these lessons. Like Obama, we are drawing attention to the positive power of change. Despite the Republican leanings of some in our Party, Obama and David Cameron stand as two of the most powerful examples of the “new politics”, leaving the old politics of Gordon Brown look tarnished and tired.
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In what sense is Obama’s campaign electrifying? He is a lifelong political insider who is very very short of real leadership experience, quite apart from being very much on the left of American politics. Last night on the news, he was barely coherent in terms of expressing his plans in relation to Iraq. McCain is far from perfect either but Obama?
I couldn’t agree more. Great stuff. I don’t understand the previous comment – it is practically indisputable that Obama is electrifying; the whole challenge – and what this article does succinctly – is to understand the reasons for his success and why he is able to embrace the rhetoric of change so naturally and so successfully when he is, in reality, very close to being a Washington insider. The challenge then is to apply the “model” successfully in this country (albeit preferably with a more solid and palatable substance in support!).
Comment 1 – just because you disagree with somebody doesn’t mean that the campaign is not electrifying. Anybody who can come from political obscurity to become the nominee of his Party, beating the long odds on establishment contender on the way, has clearly electrified a significant proportion of the electorate. You cannot deny that his oratory and his campaign has been electrifying. I dispute your assertion that Obama is “on the left” of US politics, unless you use the metrics provided by the hard core “pro guns, anti gays” Republican right.
Mr Skelton you couldn’t be more right. There’s one thing I’ve wanted for a while ever since Ashcroft was deputy and that is the development of a broad base of donors – not necessarily members because membership seems unattractive to most people. Obama’s team have written the blueprint for the next century of modern fundraising and interactivity while also being masters of the traditional campaign. All the parties are too comfortable with the ’50 + 1′ strategy and the common low turnout. I’m glad the Tories are daring to fight hard in the inner cities and to actually address the issues in those areas. I am worried though by the resurgent far right of the Tory party who are taking advantage of the polls that Cameron’s moderate politics has produced and thereby risking the work Cameron has done to detoxify the Tory party. Those people who want to turn the Conservative party into the Republicans will lead us back into the political wilderness.
I’m surprised that you dispute that Senator Obama is on the left of American politics; that he is on the far left of mainstream US politics is indisputable. The National Journal, “the leading source of nonpartisan reporting on the current political environment and emerging policy trends” in 2007 ranked Obama’s voting record as the no1 most liberal amongst Senators (in the US of course, liberal and left wing are the same thing). He had been 16th in 2005 and 10th in 2006, showing a clear shift to the left during his first three years in the Senate.
I also don’t agree that America has had deep divisions since Watergate. In 1984 Reagan won 49 out of 50 States (only losing the Minnesota home of his opponent Walter Mondale)and almost 60% of the popular vote. No British political party has ever won an election with that high a percentage of the popular vote and the last time a party topped 50% was 1931.
Those things said, I agree with the thrust of the article. Obama has made people in America believe that politicians can make the world a better place; that voting and being involved in the political process can really make a difference. It’s a long time since anyone’s believed that in this country.
The danger of course, for us and for him, is that the message of change hits home, but change to what isn’t really considered. Actual policy positions are largely absent from the UK view of US politicians – their view on Iraq is all we really understand. This was brought home to me when I read “The Audacity of Hope” a couple of years ago. The first half of the book is about Obama’s approach and was very exciting, the second half outlines policy positions. I expected not to enjoy the second half, but in fact, US and UK politics are so different that there was nothing that I could disagree with. Obama’s approach to healthcare, while way to the left of McCain, is far to the right of anything that a British Conservative leader would ever propose.
This highlights the challenge for the Conservatives under Cameron. Riding high in the polls, it seems as though they will form the next government because the public have rejected Brown – but what are the policies that these new Conservative voters are voting for? And how will they respond to what a Conservative Government actually looks like and what it actually does? Inspiring people with a message of hope, change and optimism is all very well, but delivery can be very hard.
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