Hillary Searches for a "Where's the Beef" Moment
With each passing day, the race for the Democratic presidential nomination is looking more and more like 1984. Like Walter Mondale, the long-time party establishment choice Hillary Clinton faces make-or-break showdown to halt the momentum of a charismatic insurgent. And judging from her recent rhetoric, Hillary Clinton is desperately hoping to repeat Mondale's "Where's the Beef?" moment that derailed Gary Hart's surging campaign.
A quick flashback to 1984 highlights some of the parallels to today's Clinton-Obama clash. Vice President Mondale was the overwhelming front-runner and consensus party choice heading into the primaries. But when Gary Hart, and not John Glenn, scored a surprising second place finish in Iowa, a media wave washed over Mondale. Hart enjoyed a 30 point swing in New Hampshire in a week, easily winning the Granite State primary and the ensuing Maine caucus. Heading into the first Super Tuesday contests in Georgia, Massachusetts and seven other states, Mondale's frontrunner campaign was on the verge of oblivion.
Facing a younger opponent promising a "new generation of leadership" transcending special interests, Mondale urgently needed a tactic to deflate Hart and his campaign of "new ideas." And that came just before the Georgia primary. During a debate in Atlanta, Mondale appropriated the slogan from a popular Wendy's ad and asked Hart:
"When I hear your new ideas, I'm reminded of that ad: 'Where's the beef?'"
Mondale went on to narrowly win Georgia, one of two key Super Tuesday victories that kept him in the race. Aided by subsequent Hart stumbles in Illinois, New York and New Jersey, Mondale regained his footing and won a first ballot nomination in San Francisco.
Fast forward 24 years and Hillary Clinton is frantically searching for her own "where's the beef" moment with Barack Obama. Having lost eight straight contests to a charismatic media darling running on a theme of transformation, the Clinton campaign simply must win the March 4 contests in Texas and Ohio or face extinction.
Teetering on the brink, the Clinton camp too is trying to paint its opponent as green and woefully inexperienced. Clinton's tack against Obama of "there's no there there" is now taking the staid form of "solutions, not speeches."
"Now, over the years, you've heard plenty of promises from plenty of people in plenty of speeches. And some of those speeches were probably pretty good. But speeches don't put food on the table. Speeches don't fill up your tank, or fill your prescription, or do anything about that stack of bills that keeps you up at night.
That's the difference between me and my Democratic opponent. My opponent gives speeches, I offer solutions."
Clinton surrogates, most notably her husband Bill, are echoing the talking point. In Milwaukee, President Clinton stayed on script:
"It's about whether you should choose the power of speeches over the power of solutions."
Unfortunately for Senator Clinton, this is hardly the stuff of a knockout blow. The key to Mondale's "where's the beef" jab was not merely that he tapped into instantly recognizable popular culture, but that he hit Gary Hart the policy wonk directly where he was strongest. With the United States at war and the country slipping into recession, Hillary Clinton is going to have to paint Barack Obama not as a transformation leader, but as a fad. Needless to say, equating Obama not to John F. Kennedy but to a winner of American Idol is easier said than done.
In many important ways, of course, 2008 is not 1984. Unlike Clinton and Obama, Mondale and Hart fiercely disagreed on policy, especially when it came to the economy, trade and protectionism. Gary Hart never enjoyed the endorsements and financial resources Obama has been able to garner, while Mondale virtually monopolized union support. And unlike Barack Obama, Gary Hart not only had 10 years of Senate experience, he was proven national leader on high-profile issues including military reform and the economy.
And yet, Hillary Clinton finds herself in Walter Mondale's shoes. Now in the surprising and unpleasant position of trailing an attractive challenger basking in the media glow, Hillary must find a way - and fast - to cut Barack Obama down to size. With Texas and Ohio looming, she has about two and a half weeks for her own "Where's the Beef?" moment.
(Full Disclosure: I worked for Gary Hart in 1984 and I still get pissed off every time I drive by a Wendy's.)
UPDATE: The New York Times and others are now reporting that Barack Obama apparently sampled some applause lines ("Just Words?") from his supporter and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. The Clinton camp will no doubt portray this episode as an Obama flashback to Joe Biden in 1988, if not Gary Hart in 1984.
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Hopefully, history won't repeat ittself. Go Barack!
Posted by Bruce on February 16, 2008 8:42 AM