Propaganda In George W. Bush's 2000 Campaign

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The Important Role of Plain Folks Propaganda in George W. Bush’s 2000 Campaign. George W. Bush is one of the most well known figures in 21st century America. He is best remembered for his controversial victory over Al Gore in the 2000 election and role in leading the War on Terror following the September 11th terrorist attacks. For good reason, his influence is still felt in modern America and around the globe. However, too little attention is given to Bush’s actions in the time that led up to all these events. The 2000 election campaign. Given Al Gore’s lead in the polls and a close result on Election Day, Bush clearly needed a strong strategy to secure victory. This strategy was found in a propaganda technique known as plain folks. A report …show more content…
In doing so, Bush associates his policies with the success and happiness of everyday people. Even if people don’t realize it, this creates a subliminal connection between Bush’s policies, a good quality of life, and American values. This strategy of appealing to “common people” would manifest in a new kind of conservative thinking employed by the Bush campaign — “Compassionate Conservatism.” Bush himself justified his use of the term by saying “I felt compelled to phrase it this way because people hear “conservative” and they think heartless (President George W. Bush on Compassionate Conservatism).” Essentially what Bush was doing with this was affirming traditional conservative Republican values while still emphasizing the outsider messaging that won him the nomination in the first place. This combination was a huge contributing factor to his election victory in November. Bush also incorporated plain folks propaganda into his campaign strategy by stating he came from a working class
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