No presidential campaign in this country would be complete without the three Ps of politics — polls, pundits and populism. The first two Ps are more modern creations. But the populist candidate who claims to speak for the “people” — against some political straw man such as big business or big government — has a long history. Political leaders from both sides of the aisle have consistently and unabashedly utilized populist appeals. The run-up to the 2008 election, with John Edwards’s missives against corporate power or John McCain’s attacks on big government, has largely followed a similar script.
But this year, one candidate is taking a novel approach. While populist rhetoric has been generally cast in “Us versus Them” terms, Barack Obama is crafting a new style of populism — an affirmative and unifying message that offers a stark contrast to the divisive messages of the past. To be sure, those messages have long brought success. But if Mr. Obama continues to rack up primary and caucus wins, it could lead to a redefinition of presidential campaign rhetoric.
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That introduction is from Michael Cohen’s WSJ op-ed. He is a fellow at the New America Foundation, which represents itself to be a non-partisan think tank. I’ll try to remember to reread this Cohen perspective about 3 years from now to assess the accuracy — that is if Obama becomes the next American president.
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