Francis Neil Zamora manages government affairs programs for Nolte Associates, Inc. and their clients. He believes all politics are local and has been actively involved in politics and campaigns at the grass roots level much of his career. As a graduate of the San Jose State Political Science Department, Francis hustled his way up from summer intern to chief of staff for a member of the San Jose City Council before leaving for the private sector.
When he's not involved politics Francis can be found on trip somewhere in world with Christine, buying way to much gear at REI.
Do you think there is a definite look and feel of each party. A Democratic campaign looks vastly different than a Republican campaign, yes...no, and why? What are the similarities and/or differences?
Each political party definitely has its own look and feel. However, what you see today is vastly different from what you saw yesterday and what you will see tomorrow.
History has shown us that the look and feel of our two major parties has always evolved and changed. The Republicans are the party of Abraham Lincoln, the president who freed African-Americans from slavery and used the power of the federal government to hold the union together when southern states clamored for more states rights. Today, you can make the argument that the Republican party has not been the standard bearer when it comes inclusiveness and has been a strong advocate for a smaller federal government with more rights deferred to the states.
On the other hand the southern part of the United States used to be solid states for the Democratic party. In fact, the last Democrat to carry the south was John F. Kennedy (through the help of LBJ). Many socially conservative Democrats in the south turned away from the party during the Civil Rights era and have not come back. Today, Democrats have a hard time stealing away southern states which are consistently part of the Republican win-column.
Looking forward to tomorrow, I believe this election is a watershed year for the look and feel of each party. Can a "maverick-Republican" win the presidency without the enthusiasm and mobilization of hardcore conservatives? If Senator McCain loses does this drive the Republican party further to the right? Will the Democratic Party see another exodus of socially conservative-Democrats now that their candidate of choice (HRC) is not in the election?
It's anyone’s guess but the one thing we can count on is that things will change.
We are hearing a lot about change. Change is a buzz word that parallels in both parties. How would you graphically present change? Would you have different solutions for either candidate, and why?
I'm not a designer so this is an interesting question for me. In the spinning world of perception, Senator Obama is clearly the change candidate and there is very little the McCain campaign or the GOP can do to take that away from him.
On the other hand, can John McCain be anything but the establishment candidate given his decades in Congress and that his party is in the White House. You can say McCain is a maverick and he crosses party lines. However, the day after he clinched the Republican nomination, President Bush stood John McCain up in the Rose Garden and said this my guy.
As far as my graphical representation, how about this:
Obama Change =)
McCain Change =(
Not really sure if that works on a shirt though.
Who do you think you could actually have a drink with? Which of the two would you like to get to know better on a genuine level?
Is this really a fair question? John McCain is married to the chairwoman of one of the largest beer distributors in the nation! Free beer! How do you beat that?
Seriously, I would choose Barack Obama. I believe he is one of the most charismatic figures of our time. Our country has not seen a movement with so much intensity and energy since the RFK campaign.
Lets take a look at McCain and Obama as individuals. Does either present himself to be the next president. What is it that we look for in a President as in attributes? How does that translate into graphics?
Are Senators McCain and Obama presidential enough? The answer is overwhelmingly yes.
The true question then becomes what kind of president are you looking for. Senator McCain projects a no-nonsense image of rigid strength. Voters looking for someone who will stand toe-toe with our enemies and punch them in the mouth in a post-9/11 world will be drawn to McCain.
Senator Obama projects hope and a provides inspiration. Let's face it, it is not the greatest of times. People are losing their homes, the dollar is weak and Americans are unpopular world wide. Voters who believe that this country is headed in the wrong direction will continue to move towards Obama.
When watching McCains "Heros" video he uses a smokey graphic throughout the video...what are you thoughts on this?
"Heroes" is a reflection of values. Many Americans believe we live in a country of moral relativism. Nice piece, plays to his base, however I'm not sure how this work for swing and independent voters.
The Obama and Obey poster has been circulating the net for some time. What is your overall sentiment on this poster? The poster may resemble a bit of the Constructivism movement, why do you think Obey might have chose this movement and this direction?
The piece plays well to young, progressive voters. Although, I wouldn't want it anywhere near the campaign if I worked for Senator Obama. It looks revolutionary and would scare the sh*t out of socially conservative democrats.
Senator McCain is a no-nonsense guy and I believe his logo portrays that. Strong blue background; solid but not overwhelming "McCain" name; and a solo star as military symbol of patriotism. It says John McCain. It says: I'm strong, I'm solid, I'm safe- basically what you see is what you get.
Barack Obama once said:
"There's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America.
The pundits, the pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue States: red states for Republicans, blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states.
We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states.
There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq.
We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."
Obama said these words as a state senator from Illinois during the 2004 Democratic Convention. Its message is clear: We are one people that can get beyond our differences. I like the Obama for America logo is very similar, we see limitless horizon draped in red, white, and blue. What better way to say: If we come together as people our potential is limitless.
Although this is out of Francis' realm to have contributed to our site, the girls and myself would like to thank Francis for participating in the round table discussion. We hope to have him around in the future for more political talks and discussion! Hope you enjoyed it....now on the the next person in our Politics In the Pressroom!
