There has been a scramble by many vying to be nominated as the candidate for the Republican Party while only a few showed up to ask for the Democratic Party nomination.
Always, candidates come forth with their rallying slogan, the words, which they say define them. Let's have a look at each slogan including those who have since dropped out.
First, let's look at the self-centered candidates. These are the it's-all-about-me candidates. These kinds of slogans are horrible.
There is a cardinal rule in advertising. The advertiser must answer WIIFM — what is in it for me. No one buys because a seller brags about himself.
- Hillary for America. ~ Hillary Clinton
- Jeb Can Fix It. ~ Jeb Bush
- Telling It Like It Is. ~ Chris Christie
- Kasich for Us. ~ John Kasich
The Chris Christie slogan implies Chris as in Chris Christie is telling it like it is. Who cares what Chris is doing? Chris fails to answer how telling it like it is helps us.
Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul try to tap into the odiousness of politics. However, such slogans fail to inspire anyone to do the exact act needed — vote. Paul's is especially clumsy because he throws in meaningless abstraction of the American dream. Worse, Sanders sounds like he wants to to overthrow the USA.
Trump taps into the underdog myth that is prevalent in American lore. Being an underdog who prevails is a recurring story of Americans. Such American lore has its roots in the War for Independence, World War 2 and sports.
First Hillary:
Of all the slogans, only Trump's implies problem solved, better times ahead.
What politicians are trying to do is change attitudes of would-be voters. Attitude is how anyone leans toward another. Attitude arises from beliefs about the likelihood of winning a wanted payoff by doing something.
Rhetoric is about saying what others need to hear. Good rhetoric will take a performance act and make it seem like merely a descriptive act.
A fight has combatants who are trying to win, to beat each other. An argument is a try to win over others to do what you want, to get them to yield to you, to commit to you, to get your way.
There are three ways to argue:
Only the language of choice, language of the future can motivate anyone to act. What decides between a yes and a no is the interests of someone either as he sees them already or as you play up his interests in your talk.
The true secret to selling is this — the sales pitch must reflect what the plain man or woman believes rather than what you believe. As the smart businessman always aims at sales, the smart politician aims at votes.
Smarter persuaders make those persuaded believe that what they are about to do is by their own decisions. All want to believe they decide without any assistance. Would be customers and would be voters should be made to feel they are not forced to accept ideas. Rather they should be made to feel that in so doing, they act independently and do what it is they wish to do.
Words have no worth whatever except that words represent ideas in the minds of those who hear or see them. Words merely trigger thoughts already present in the minds of others.
The means to anyone's heart is suggestion. There can be no statements of fact. Words must trigger through suggestion. No one was ever reasoned into buying.
Smarter persuaders never sell things. Instead smarter persuaders sells ideas about things. Often, goods do not get delivered until after the sale completes. Politics is like this exactly.
If I were writing slogans, I would write this:
In persuading, you can appeal effectively to the vanity of either a woman or a man. With your vote, my slogan appeals by vanity to anyone, making her or him feel important. My slogan acknowledges ownership and power of the voter.
No one ever buys without motive. All must see a gain by their act. My slogan appeals to one one of the strongest motives — personal advantage. A better USA implies a gain to anyone who partakes in a better USA.
My slogan in its entirety is suggestion that leads rather than pushes. It lets voters believe their actions are theirs alone that arise from free thought.
Jeb Bush came out with two slogans. His first one, Jeb! has been mocked as ¡Jeb!. The mockery implied Jeb is for illegal aliens who sneak into the USA "because they love" us as he claimed.
Jeb's first slogan is so self-absorbed that it it should be clear to all that Jeb lives in a me-bubble. Jeb's other slogan is mere bravado. Jeb fails to ask us what we want fixed.
John Kasich errs much in the same way as Hillary Clinton. However, Kasich presumes that he constitutes the us along with anyone else.
Here are the self-centered slogans from the dropout candidates:
- Leadership You Can Trust. ~ Jim Webb
- Gilmore for America. ~ Jim Gilmore
- Ready to Be Commander-In-Chief on Day One. ~ Lindsey Graham
Next, there are candidates that preach a message of meaningless abstraction.
- From Hope to Higher Ground. ~ Mike Huckabee
- Reigniting the Promise for America. ~ Ted Cruz
- A New American Century. ~ Marco Rubio
- Heal. Inspire. Revive. ~ Dr. Ben Carson
- Restore the American Dream for Hardworking Families. ~ Rick Santorum
Here are the meaningless abstraction slogans from the dropout candidates:
- Fresh Ideas for America. ~ Lincoln Chafee
- Rebuild the American Dream. ~ Martin O’Malley
- Believe Again. ~ Bobby Jindal
- Reform. Growth. Safety. ~ Scott Walker
And then there is Carly Fiorina who preaches a hybrid message of meaningless abstraction and her being self-centered.
- Carly for America. Conservative. Outside. Leader. ~ Carly Fiorina
Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul try to tap into the odiousness of politics. However, such slogans fail to inspire anyone to do the exact act needed — vote. Paul's is especially clumsy because he throws in meaningless abstraction of the American dream. Worse, Sanders sounds like he wants to to overthrow the USA.- A Political Revolution Is Coming. ~ Bernie Sanders
- Defeat the Washington Machine. Unleash the American Dream. ~ Rand Paul
Dropout George Pataki also tried the lame attempt at tapping into the ugliness of politics, which few like.
- People Over Politics. ~ George Pataki
One of the strangest and stupidest of all slogans is the one from the earliest dropout Rick Perry. Rick's made it sounds as if you were trouble if you would have voted for him.
- We Must Do Right and Risk the Consequences. ~ Rick Perry
And here is the winning slogan from a slew of stinky ones:
Make America Great Again. ~ Donald Trump
There is so much wrapped up in Trump's slogan. Trump's slogan lets anyone see what she or he wants to see. Trump can make the USA great. By voting, the voter can make America great.
Trump taps into the underdog myth that is prevalent in American lore. Being an underdog who prevails is a recurring story of Americans. Such American lore has its roots in the War for Independence, World War 2 and sports.
One way for you to understand slogans is to play a fill-in-the-blank game. The two tools you can use are these:
- If you vote for me, I will ...
- When you vote for me, we will ...
Why does Trump's slogan trump the others? Play a fill-in-the-blank game. Let's compare Hillary to Trump.
First Hillary:
- If you vote for me, I will [be] Hillary for America.
- When you vote for me, we will [be] Hillary for America.
Next Sanders:
- If you vote for me, I will [be the cause of] a Political Revolution [that] Is Coming.
- When you vote for me, we will [be the cause of] a Political Revolution [that] Is Coming.
And now Trump:
- If you vote for me, I will Make America Great Again.
- When you vote for me, we will Make America Great Again.
Of all the slogans, only Trump's implies problem solved, better times ahead.
What politicians are trying to do is change attitudes of would-be voters. Attitude is how anyone leans toward another. Attitude arises from beliefs about the likelihood of winning a wanted payoff by doing something.
Rhetoric is about saying what others need to hear. Good rhetoric will take a performance act and make it seem like merely a descriptive act.
A fight has combatants who are trying to win, to beat each other. An argument is a try to win over others to do what you want, to get them to yield to you, to commit to you, to get your way.
There are three ways to argue:
- Logos — arguing by arranging facts that imply logic.
- Ethos — arguing by one's character, one's reputation matching decorum of the group, that is, matching the expectation of others in tone, manners and looks, trying to fit in.
- Pathos — arguing by what others are feeling by leveraging sympathy" showing the same feeling as others, emoting as they emote.
Time is such an important element in the way one talks. There are three ways to talk:
- Blame — it's past-tense forensics that tries to hold someone accountable.
- Morals — it's now-tense that either bonds or cleaves persons in debating the merits of the existence of anything
- Choice — it's future-tense speak that gives choices and future payoffs.
The true secret to selling is this — the sales pitch must reflect what the plain man or woman believes rather than what you believe. As the smart businessman always aims at sales, the smart politician aims at votes.
Smarter persuaders make those persuaded believe that what they are about to do is by their own decisions. All want to believe they decide without any assistance. Would be customers and would be voters should be made to feel they are not forced to accept ideas. Rather they should be made to feel that in so doing, they act independently and do what it is they wish to do.
Words have no worth whatever except that words represent ideas in the minds of those who hear or see them. Words merely trigger thoughts already present in the minds of others.
The means to anyone's heart is suggestion. There can be no statements of fact. Words must trigger through suggestion. No one was ever reasoned into buying.
Smarter persuaders never sell things. Instead smarter persuaders sells ideas about things. Often, goods do not get delivered until after the sale completes. Politics is like this exactly.
If I were writing slogans, I would write this:
Your vote. And a Better USA Ahead for You.™
In persuading, you can appeal effectively to the vanity of either a woman or a man. With your vote, my slogan appeals by vanity to anyone, making her or him feel important. My slogan acknowledges ownership and power of the voter.
No one ever buys without motive. All must see a gain by their act. My slogan appeals to one one of the strongest motives — personal advantage. A better USA implies a gain to anyone who partakes in a better USA.
My slogan in its entirety is suggestion that leads rather than pushes. It lets voters believe their actions are theirs alone that arise from free thought.
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