There is a front-page post that discusses a number of issues (including the matter of union signs being edited out) regarding the Super Bowl Chrysler ad narrated by Clint Eastwood.
I want to comment on one aspect of this ad specifically. The Eastwood/Chrysler ad very explicitly reflects the vision of national unity put forth by President Obama, not only in recent months (although he has done so in a more populist way recently) but going back to his earliest writings. His vision--"Obama's America"--centers around a strongly articulated sense of common national identity that links all Americans to one another.
Take a look at some of the language from the Eastwood script:
It’s halftime in America, too. People are out of work and they’re hurting. And they’re all wondering what they’re going to do to make a comeback. And we’re all scared, because this isn’t a game.
The people of Detroit know a little something about this. They almost lost everything. But we all pulled together, now Motor City is fighting again.
"We all pulled together" can mean many things, of course. In this instance, however, there is no question that it refers at least in part to the Obama administration's actions to rescue the auto industry through direct government intervention.
Eastwood continued to discuss how Detroit--i.e., the auto industry (this is a Chrysler ad, remember)--made its comeback:
We all rallied around what was right, and acted as one. Because that’s what we do. (snip) Detroit’s showing us it can be done. And, what’s true about them is true about all of us.
This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines.
What happened in Detroit, according to Eastwood/Chrysler, is what will happen across the country. We will come back, stronger than ever, by acting together.
This is exactly the kind of language Obama has used for years, and especially strongly in recent months. We saw this in his State of the Union address only two weeks ago. From the transcript:
This generation's success is only possible because past generations felt a responsibility to each other, and to their country's future, and they know our way of life will only endure if we feel that same sense of shared responsibility. (snip) When we act together, there is nothing the United States of America can't achieve. (snip) This Nation is great because we worked as a team. This Nation is great because we get each other's backs. And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard. As long as we're joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, our future is hopeful, and the state of our Union will always be strong.
In other sections of the speech, Obama made clear that this sense of common purpose related to a progressive economic vision based on economic fairness, one in which government has an active role to play in ensuring equal opportunity.
The Chrysler ad is no political speech, but nevertheless the progressive ethos seen in its language parallels that which Obama has voiced. If you want evidence, there's the fact that Michelle Malkin hated the ad. Below are further examples of Obama's language along similar lines.
On September 8, 2011, the President declared in his address to Congress introducing the American Jobs Act:
No single individual built America on their own. We built it together. We have been, and always will be, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all; a nation with responsibilities to ourselves and with responsibilities to one another
On September 27, 2011, he re-emphasized these themes, calling them "quintessentially American," and continued:
Those of us who’ve done well should pay our fair share to contribute to the upkeep of the nation that made our success possible because nobody (snip) did well on their own. A teacher somewhere helped give you the skills to succeed. Firefighters and police officers are protecting your property. You’re moving your goods and products and services on roads that somebody built. That’s how we all do well together. We got here because somebody else invested in us.
The vision of America Obama described in these remarks, and in countless other speeches, venues, and in his books, is one that recognizes that we must work together in order to succeed, that the efforts of a community at the local level, and a people at the national level, will bring greater success than would the sum total of all the individuals in that group working separately on their own. It rejects the Ayn Randian, Social Darwinist, every-man-for-himself vision on which the contemporary Republican Party's ideology on the economy and government rests.
Obama's America emphasizes unity and community. The more people we can convince of the rightness of that vision, the better off we'll be as a country. Obama and Chrysler/Eastwood have presented a vision of America and of our national identity that I believe many Americans find appealing.
The ad moved me as I watched it. I honestly wasn't sure, at first, that it wasn't an Obama campaign ad (until Eastwood mentioned "Detroit"). I'm not the only one.
Finally, it is a big deal that this Chrysler ad, voiced by Clint Eastwood (with his libertarian/Republican background and his significant credibility as a cultural icon) and watched by tens of millions of Americans, put forth a vision of America that in significant ways echoes that which Obama himself has offered.
It is meaningful politically and, going a bit deeper, in terms of our national ethos, the way we see ourselves as a country and a people, in other words, our national identity. Ultimately, politics is one of the most important avenues in which the struggle to define our national identity plays out. Another is popular culture. Here is an example where the two avenues offer a similar message. That kind of synergy has an impact.
Note: As some of you may be aware (it's in my sig line), I have a book coming out this June/July called Obama's America: A Transformative Vision of Our National Identity (Potomac Books). Although I don't discuss the Chrysler ad from last night in the book, this diary explores some of themes I do discuss there in much greater detail.
There's much more we could discuss about Obama's rhetoric on these issues, such as the influence of Occupy Wall Street, Elizabeth Warren, and a whole host of other topics. Feel free to do so of course in the comments. I wanted the diary itself to focus on the points I wanted to focus on (diarist's privilege). Thanks for reading.