Last updated on February 9th, 2013 at 07:27 am
Have noticed how often President Obama is mentioning beer on the campaign trail? This is no accident. In fact, it is a calculated political strategy.
Even in the White House, Barack Obama has still been a bit of regular guy. Well, as regular as a guy can be while being President of the United States. Obama loves his family, likes sports, shoots hoops and has an image in many ways of being the prototypical guy, who just happens to also be the most powerful man in the world.
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This personal likability has kept the president afloat even during his toughest professional times. No matter what has been going on in the country, majorities of Americans have always personally liked Obama. Mitt Romney, who Americans have never warmed up to, has been trying to chip away at the president’s likability with constant claims that Obama is a liar who is diminishing the office of the presidency with his reelection campaign.
The Obama folks have found an interesting way to negate Romney’s attacks before they ever get started. On the campaign trail, President Obama has not been shy about displaying his taste for an ice cold brew.
The Washington Post put together some clips of Obama referencing and tossing back a cold one while campaigning through Iowa.
The thing about Obama and beer is that it is genuine. Remember the Henry Louis Gates incident, and the Beer Summit at the White House in 2009? This is not new, but the president is using a sudsy strategy to define and defeat Mitt Romney.
If there is one thing Mitt Romney is not, it is a regular guy. Romney appears to be campaigning on the fact that he is not a normal guy. The Republican nominee has embraced his status as the defender of the super rich and claims that anyone who doesn’t like him is jealous of his money.
It is also safe to say that because of his Mormon faith you’ll never see Romney hanging out and drinking a beer. The Obama campaign has taken Romney’s faith off of the table, but the sight of Obama drinking a beer is a visual reminder that Mitt Romney isn’t like most Americans. No matter what the reason, Mitt Romney doesn’t come off like an everyday guy who understands your problems.
The age old question of presidential candidates that voters have been asked for decades is would you like to have a beer with this candidate? In 2012, it isn’t even close. When voters were asked last month which candidate they found more likable, Obama led Romney, 63%-27%. Voters like Obama, and they don’t like Romney.
Whether this Bud’s for you, he heads to the Rockies, the mountains, or pumps some Iron, President Obama might have discovered a new path to victory, which will be loaded with delicious irony of Obama being able to use a product that right beer barons like Coors family produces in order to win reelection.
In the battle of Obama’s every man likability versus Romney’s cold aristocracy, it really may come down to who voters would rather pop a cold one with for the next four years.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
