May 1, 2012
Big Stick's New Slogan: Forward to Nowhere!
I reckon by now everybody has heard that Barack H. Obama's new campaign slogan, unveiled to great fanfare for the media to parrot until it goes viral, is -- wait for it -- "Forward."
No, that's not a misprint. Obama's entire campaign will be based upon the word "forward."
Yes, yes, I know what the conservative press and the dextrosphere have been saying; but forget about all those Socialist and Communist movements and States that have used the word "Forward!" as part (or all) of their slogans, names, or publications. As even Newsmax has pointed out, everybody and his unkie's monkle has tried to appropriate the future at one time or another, including the state of Wisconsin and the Jewish Daily Forward. (Of course, the latter is published by and for New York Jews, so maybe it should count as one of those radical Socialist publications...)
The first problem with the slogan is that it is utterly devoid of any meaning whatsoever -- "forward" to where? To what? Forward means only going in the same direction you're currently pointing; which at the moment is the wrong direction, according to a supermajority of Americans, as measured by Rasmussen, NBC, CBS, and Reuters. Reverse full, reverse full!
The second problem is that, being so vacuous itself, this silly slogan easily lends itself to parody and mockery. Here's the first cartoon I imgained: Barack "Big Stick" Obama striding boldly off to the left, fist raised high, the caption reading "Forward!" -- directly towards a cliff over a yawning chasm. This sort of mirth at the president's expense practically draws itself.
Third, it's pompous, playing directly into voters' perception that Obama sees himself as the smartest guy in every room and the center of the known universe. Doesn't it recall, in its delusional grandiosity, those Greek columns that surrounded him during the spectacle of his nomination?
Forward to the dubious and imaginary golden age of Progressivism!
Sure, Obama is already ripe for mockery; here's Mitt Romney on the president's upcoming renomination in Charlotte, North Carolina -- remember when the Democrat's irrational exuberance led them to believe that North Carolina would become a permanent blue state? -- and what you won't see in Charlotte:
My guess is by the way, the Democratic Convention, he will not be appearing in front of Greek columns like in Denver. He won't want to remind people of Greece.
And dig those ginormous, left-facing portraits of Obama, each about a quarter-mile tall: Big Stick is watching you! Add that to the ludicrous slogan, and you've got a real winner there -- for wits and comics across the globe.
Finally, when you hear the word "Forward" -- what is your immediate word-association-football for the next word? For an awful lot of American males (and an increasing number of American females), the obvious next word is: ...march! Which sounds an awful lot like Barack Obama is (literally) issuing marching orders to the citizenry of the United States. Achtung!
My understanding was, and maybe I'm just being naive, that the legal and political reality is the exact opposite: We're supposed to give our representatives, including the POTUS, orders, not the other way 'round.
Remember those words from Abraham Lincoln (does the Big Stick even know who that feller was?) from his Gettysburg Address: "And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." He didn't say government of, by, and for the One the Light Bringer the Big Stick the Supreme Leader.
But Obama's imperious nature (I'm the king, and I want my noodles!) and condescending opinion of the American people (we're just not good enough for him) tells me that the association of "Forward, march!" may be unintentional, but it surely is not unwarranted.
The cement-headed new slogan isn't a disaster; it's not like his new slogan was "You want mustard on that dog?" But it's yet another lost opportunity, in a lengthy chain of such lost opportunities, to try to bridge the gap between Obamunism and Americanism. It is a blunder... and I'm profoundly grateful: For every such foolish misstep brings us one sure-foot step closer to real hope and change in November.
Hatched by Dafydd on this day, May 1, 2012, at the time of 9:37 PM
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