Famous Campaign Slogans

Campaign slogans can define an election.

Every four years, U.S. citizens go to the polls to vote for the candidate they want as president. Although there are always dozens of important polices at the forefront of the campaigns, often it only takes one phrase or slogan to grab all the headlines and determine the way that the campaign goes. Throughout U.S. political history, there have been many such slogans.

"Drill, Baby, Drill"

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Republican candidate John McCain famously cried the words, "Drill, Baby, Drill," outlining his plans to extend offshore oil drilling, which for the previous 20 years had been discouraged. McCain planned to allow drilling to occur 50 miles off the coast of Virginia and in sections off the Alaskan and Atlantic coasts. Democratic candidate Barack Obama opposed the idea and went on to win the election, meaning McCain never had the opportunity to explore deep-sea oil reserves that he believed would rid America of its reliance on Middle-Eastern oil.

"It's the Economy, Stupid"

This was a successful campaign slogan that eventual winner Bill Clinton used to defeat Republican rival George H.W. Bush. The quote is credited to Clinton's strategist James Carville, who thought that the only way to defeat Bush was to direct attention away from his popular foreign-policy achievements and point out that Bush was not placing much emphasis on the economy. The plan worked and Clinton went on to be a very popular, but also highly controversial, president.

"A Chicken in Every Pot. A Car in Every Garage"

In 1928, Herbert Hoover ran for the presidency and his slogan, "A Chicken in Every Pot. A car in every garage," outlined what he believed to be the worries of the American public. It is said that Hoover did not come up with slogan himself, but rather the Republican National Committee inserted it into a number of newspapers during the 1928 campaign, outlining that a vote for Hoover would be a vote for prosperity. It certainly made people go out and vote, as he went on to win the 1928 election.

"Yes We Can"

This famous campaign slogan was adopted by President Barrack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign and fused together ideas of civil rights history and America's desire for change at the time, particularly in its foreign policy outlook. The slogan was actually borrowed from the United Farm Workers and was used by Cesar Chavez in 1972 during his 24-day fast in Phoenix. The slogan was made famous in a song by Black Eyed Peas singer Will.i.am and became so popular it was adopted as a secondary presidential campaign slogan for the successful Obama.

"I Like Ike"

During the winter of discontent of 1951 to 1952, Americans were becoming disillusioned with the Korean war and with the presidency of Harry Truman. Moving on this feeling of unpopularity for the current administration, Dwight Eisenhower's 1952 Republican presidential campaign centered on the slogan, "I Like Ike." Ike was Eisenhower's nickname and the slogan was made into a catchy tune for voters to sing and easily remember. It was a play on "They like Ike" taken from a popular musical at the time, "Call Me Madam," and quickly became one of the most effective and famous campaign slogans of all time.

"My Hat's in the Ring"

The well-known term "throw my hat into the ring" originated from the sport of boxing when people would literally throw their hat into the boxing ring to challenge a fighter, but it was developed further by Theodore Roosevelt. In 1912, he confirmed his candidacy for the U.S. presidency by saying, "My hat's in the ring" and helped to add a saying to the English language, which is still in use today.

References

• One Utah; President McCain: 'Drill Baby Drill'; Richard Warnick; March 31, 2010
• "The Daily Telegraph"; Gordon Brown: It's the Economy, Stupid!; Richard Alleyne; 23/05/2008
• Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum: Frequently Asked Questions
• "Time": Inspiration vs. Substance; Joe Klein; Feb. 7, 2008
• Sticky Slogans: Campaign Slogans
• MBA in the USA: Words of the Week