A Very Dumb Move

I'm really starting to think Obama's campaign is heading for serious trouble. The slogan is bad enough: "Buy American, even if everyone's whispering, I'm not." I don't see this getting him beyond the whole "different" thing, so much as I think it will make Pennsylvanians focus on it. But the logo makes it so much worse.

The Obama camp is pushing a new theme in Pennsylvania tomorrow -- it's called the "Buy American, Vote Obama" campaign.

Okay, sorry about the Presidential Seal debacle. Hey, how 'bout I rip off Harley Davidson instead? Plenty of Harley riders in PA, true. But the logo might make them more likely to rush the Secret Service and kick your ass, as opposed to vote for you.

I suspect some number of the voters he's trying to reach with this will get more ticked off about the Harley logo than they did the seal. They demonstrate their youth, inexperience and elitism almost everyday with these types of moves.

According to an Obama aide, the new effort dovetails with a renewed push by the Obama team in Pennsylvania to poke fun at John McCain's recent claim that he would rather hear the roar of "50,000 Harleys" than the cheering of 200,000 Berliners.

As the Obama camp was quick to point out, McCain opposed legislation that would have forced the U.S. government to buy American-made motorcycles.

Comments

[Spartan112]

You really think those two logos look alike? Really?

The wing motif bears a slight resemblance but beyond that it doesn't have any of design elements in common.

[Roy Lofquist]

Obama's folks have really got a tin ear. I'm not talking about the resemblance to the Harley logo. I'm talking about the "Buy American" slogan. Obama's major image problem is that he seems exotic - not mainstream American. People are going to look at that logo and say "Huh? What does that mean?". The Obama camp counters with the trope about McCain's vote on the "buy American" bill. Not one person in 10,000 who sees that logo will be aware of that vote. And the campaign could spend a million dollars and still not get that point across.

I have been watching campaigns since 1952. Obama's is a remake of the Keystone Kops. It reminds me of a bunch of giggly kids saying "let's put on a play!".

[John]

McCain voted for freedom. What a bad man!

[Cynthia]

Teacher says every time a bell rings a logo gets its wings!

It does look more like a pin a flight attendant would wear while demonstrating the emergency exit procedures pre-flight.

[Scrapiron]

Millions of Americans are wondering if Hussein O is an American and are putting off buying his BS.

The emblem is almost a direct copy of an old gas company emblem, just can't remember the name, but it's close enough to say they stole the design.

[Dan Riehl]

Royal Petroleum

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2301/2438081952_2918bd2a8a.jpg?v=0

[Spartan112]

It's certainly more similar to that logo than the Harley logo, but not enough to be considered stolen...not like say McSame's response to the Georgian crisis that his campaign stole from Wikipedia.

[Curtis Henderson]

It's sad that Obama has to pander to dirty white trash. Those meth-loving losers should work a little harder and play a little less.

[Karl]

The Harley anniversary badge from 2003 is a closer fit.

http://www.freebase.com/view/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000004a6c451

[PA]

Well, at least it will work well with a CD labeler.

[Spartan112]

"The Harley anniversary badge from 2003 is a closer fit."

Yeah, again, it's got wings but what else about it is similar. Should I start pulling up the literally thousands of logos that contain wings?

[Richard]

I was reminded of the Chrysler vehicle emblem by the center of the Obama emblem. Is Chrysler really an American company?

[Fred Beloit]

This person has said some crazy things before, but this is new and untrod territory. This person says the Democraticic party is all minorities, yes "all minorities". This person said the Republican party is the "white" party[by accident?]. This person says the Democratics give women and minorities more opportunity for success in the party than the Republicans do. Who is this person, a hard-working African-American young man, an ambitious Hispanic woman, a soccer mom? No, it is an angry, old, white male in a top Democraticic position, who else:

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/153493.html

[Fred Beloit]

Mr. Cuntis Henderson may be interested in this: note the center of this emblem. Does that center not look like the hands in the new Obama Stalin-like poster? Perhaps this was designed by Mr. Shepard "Aperture" Fairey as well.
http://www.riehlworldview.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/08/07/obsalute.jpg

[Molon Labe]

Afraid I don't really see any similarity between these logos. What, because both have "wings"?

[Mike G in Corvallis]

"Wings"? Looks to me like four fingers on each side ...

It's goatse!

[Spartan112]

I knew I had seen the McSame logo before...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Thomson_logo.svg

http://www.johnmccain.com/

or even

www.gfmha.ca/image/McCain.jpg

Damn thief!

[Rhod]

The logo has a nice 1950's chrome bullet-nose thing going for it, like a Stude or a Henry J, with Pontiac Chieftan headdress streaks. Or maybe the dial treatment on an old Sylvania bakelite radio. Obama just got the 85 and older vote.

[upetrovska]

Imagine if McCain said "Buy American, Vote McCain". It would be paraded by the media as racist, focusing on Obama's Indonesia and Muslim background, etc.

[Bozoer Rebbe]

I don't think it looks like the Harley graphic. It borrows more from the Bentley logo or the Breitling logo.

However, if the Obama campaign thinks that they have the pulse of bikers, they're clueless. It'd be funny to ask Obama what he and his nanny state base think of helmet laws (though I happen to agree with the laws, many bikers feel they represent a loss of freedom). Obama supporters look down on Harley riders, and think sportbike riders are a menace.

I don't know if they are national ad buys or just running here in Michigan, but the Obama campaign is running an ad on television that I think betrays how out of touch with working class Americans the Obama campaign is, and actually alienates the very working people that it targets..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz7m2JhVOdY

The ad's theme is supposed to be how we can move to a new economy. My feeling is that I'm not the only one who perceives it as patronizing. The ad gives the impression that farmers, construction workers and auto workers are obsolete, that what they do now isn't nearly as important as what they could be doing in the new Obamamerica. It's also assumes that they are clueless about technology and change and that they are unaware of their own skills. Farmers have been using windmills for centuries. Roofers and construction workers know how to install solar panels better than Obama (who's probably never lifted a hammer or used a power tool in his life), and auto workers know better than anyone that their employers have to shift production to new and more efficient powertrains.

Also, the video clip of the future cars they will be building is of the rather lame Ford Airstream concept, a pure concept, unlike the Chevy Volt that is actually being developed for production.

A transcript of the ad:

The hands that built this nation can build a new economy.

The hands that harvest crops can also harvest the wind.

The hands that install roofs can also install solar panels.

The hands that build today's cars can build the next generation of fuel efficient vehicles.

Barack Obama, a new vision for our economy.

Fast-track alternative fuels.

Create five million new jobs developing home-grown energy technologies.

Because America's future is in our hands.

I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message.

[Spartan112]

"Imagine if McCain said "Buy American, Vote McCain". It would be paraded by the media as racist, focusing on Obama's Indonesia and Muslim background, etc."

Do you have a point or did a random thought pop into your head that you thought sounded intellectual?

[keeskennis]

I am puzzled and I don't have a vote.
This B Obama, what has he ever done to be able to be a contender in this race?
Help me out.

[Jeff]

I actually thought that the logo was satire when I read it on AOS.
And dead on upetrovska, that's probably why he hasn't, because I am sure that there are a lot of people who are unsure of how American Obama is. Not citizenship, but he certainly seems to have an affinity for entities who aren't American (such as Kenya, and the UN, maybe even the EU).

And Dan, I think that your site has improved alot since I stopped commenting, but why don't you just get rid of the trolls? RWN, Ace, LGF, and most major sites like yours just oust them. I mean, have you ever tried to leave a Conservative comment on Kos, or Fire Dog Lake? If you kick trolls out its not intolerance, its getting rid of the people who are trying to wreck your site. Either way, you are back on my RSS :)

[davod]

Buy 50 percent American, Vote 50% Obama.

[Mike]

Usually, when someone says "Buy American!" they really mean "Buy the Chevrolet Aveo (made in Korea) or the Chevrolet HHR (made in Mexico) rather than the Honda Accord (made in Ohio) 'cause 'Chevrolet' sounds more American than 'Honda.'"

In other words, all surface, no substance. Kind of like certain candidates I could mention.

[tim maguire]

"Buy American, even if everyone's whispering, I'm not."

What does that even mean? And if he is saying he's more American than McCain, well, if he can sell that then maybe he should be president.

[David Gillies]

This sort of stupid nativist pandering might play well in Peoria, but anyone who has even an inkling of Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage knows how witless it is. We, all of us, consume many more things than we produce, so the emphasis should be placed on how we optimise our consumption, not our production. If you can buy product X cheaper from Malaysia than from a US supplier, you would be irrational to 'buy American'. One wonders whether Obama knows this and is just mouthing the words, or whether he's too stupid. I suppose the former is marginally preferable to the latter.

[Math_Mage]

Frankly, I don't find the "is it ripped off from Harley/Chrysler/Bentley/whoever?" question that important. I do find the slogan troubling, however. It doesn't make sense on its face, because Obama is not objectively more American than McCain. And the slogan itself brings up shades of US protectionist policy regarding steel, cane sugar, and more. This is the candidate who portrays himself as the candidate who can reach out abroad (witness his recent trip) and fix our image around the world?

[clyde_m]

i live in one of the target markets (s/wb) for this pathetic excuse of branding. frankly, i didn't think about motorcycles for a second when i saw this new logo - not even when i tried. to me, it is a suck up to unions. and the present target markets are both heavy union areas.

further, even if it is geared towards bikers, they are not exactly a voting block. and to the extent individual members do vote, they are not open to marketing manipulation.

obambi is doing several things, including this, which are purely in response to things mccain is doing. where's the individual path? if obambi is going to do nothing but respond, then mccain will set his agenda. it's as laughable as when dole told bubba that the first priority of bubba's admin should be gays in the military. remarkable.

[tim maguire]

"Buy American, even if everyone's whispering, I'm not."

What does that even mean? And if he is saying he's more American than McCain, well, if he can sell that then maybe he should be president.

[tim maguire]

"Buy American, even if everyone's whispering, I'm not."

What does that even mean? And if he is saying he's more American than McCain, well, if he can sell that then maybe he should be president.

[jvossos]

This Obama is just one symbol after another ... Carl Jung would be proud.

The problem is that they don't actually mean anything. They are just symbols that he hopes will bull s**t some people into relating to one of the many symbols and voting for him.

It's very childish.

I think the symbol he will get on election day is the middle finger symbol and everyone can relate to that.

[Agent Smith]

Detroit Red Wing fans may have a bone to pick with them as well...

[Moptop]

The gaffe O matic provides a lot more fodder for ridicule than this. Although his penchant for symbols is creepy, I have to admit, as is his call for people to "believe in" him, rather than think about what he says and use their faculty of reason.

[Ratt]

Well now, anyone old enuf to remember the Ole Smutt-Butt on a Putt-Putt ?

[mojo]

REO Speedwagon, maybe. Hardly Dangerous, not so much.

[DirtCrashr]

Jeeze, like the goatse-O-gaff, now the wing motif. Everybody knows the circle with the curly-whatsis in it should be below the wings, and held in the talons of the Left-facing eagle. And the European speech should have been held in Nuremberg instead of Berlin, following a festive torchlight parade.