I LIKE IKE!

[MineralMan]

That was, perhaps, the most effective campaign slogan of all time. Dwight David Eisenhower, a WWII general, won with that slogan. It was really simple. It was positive. It was just what the country was looking for after that war.

My parents voted for Adlai Stevenson. Twice. They were Democrats, and always voted for the Democrat. It didn't matter, people liked Ike. Eisenhower didn't have much of a personality, really. He was sort of a stolid President. He did OK in the post-war time, I suppose. He would probably be called a moderate Democrat now, I guess.

I LIKE IKE! That was his slogan. It got him elected. That, and his service as a General in the war.

Things are not as simple in 2019, are they?

[Peacetrain]

1. "Lets go Joe"...

sounds good to me

simple and to the point

[riversedge]

26. I like it also.

[Demsrule86]

2. Trump got elected with make America great...and now make america great again is his mantra...Obama

was hope and change, McCain...the straight talk express...I think slogans still help. I couldn't think of one for Hillary and I supporter her completely?

[Cha]

8. Yes We Can! Si podemos!

[Demsrule86]

15. Yes we can of course and how about fired up an ready to go?

God I miss Obama...

[Cha]

17. "Fired UP.." was Huge!

me too

[Demsrule86]

22. it was...sigh.

[Mike 03]

3. No, not as simple at all.

It looks like Bloomberg is hoping they are: he's selling "I like Mike" tees on his campaign website. To be fair, he's got another better tee that says "In God we trust. Everyone else, bring data."

[MineralMan]

6. It was that simple then. Times have changed.

It's not simple at all now. Bloomberg's borrowing of that slogan isn't going to work. He's too late to the dance. Everyone's dance cards are already full. Which is not to say that he might not end up as the fourth candidate, come Super Tuesday. I don't know.

We're long past the point of simple slogans winning elections. That's true. But, we're sorely in need of a unifying message. Here's what I think: Today, I saw a couple of Biden Super PAC ads. Very effective, emotionally laden ads, they were, too. If more like that appear, he might just have found the formula for the 2020 election. Watch them. They've been posted here.

In a crowded primary field, Joe Biden has managed to retain the #1 position throughout the campaign. I doubt that will change. The 15% rule will see to it that he ends up with a majority of delegates to the convention, I'm pretty sure. So, I've hitched my wagon to his candidacy. I think he's the nominee, barring some unfortunate event.

But, there's not going to be a slogan like "I Like Ike" in 2020. Things are more complicated now.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. So maybe the current candidates should try for similar slogans.

"I yearn for Bern!"
"I go for Joe!"
"I'm gamy for Amy!"
"I'm in heat for Pete!"

Can't think of anything that rhymes with Elizabeth, though.

[MineralMan]

7. READY FOR BETTY?

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[PatSeg]

25. The possibilities are endless!

[MineralMan]

27. Indeed they are.

I hesitate to suggest some of the bawdier ones, so I won't.

[PatSeg]

9. "I'm in heat for Pete!"

That is hilarious! "Gamy for Amy"??? Not sure she'd like that one.

In 2016, people who wanted Joe to run came up with the slogan, "Riding with Biden". It is catchy, but it didn't really say anything. "No Malarkey" actually has some meaning.

[Demsrule86]

13. hahaha Oh dear God!!!

[RobertDevereaux]

14. Dizzy for Lizzy

[Demsrule86]

16. I like that one.

bonkers for Betty?

[Anon-C]

28. I'm palsy for Tulsi!

[PatSeg]

5. I remember the "I Like Ike" buttons

when I was a kid. He was such a popular person that both parties approached him to be their nominee. He didn't have a dazzling personality, but he had integrity and was quietly reassuring. People felt secure with him in the White House. He was the only president I knew as a child. It wasn't until I was an adult that I really appreciated him as a president.

[MineralMan]

11. Yes, I remember them, too. I was born in 1945, so his first election

didn't make much of an impact. By the next one, though, I was old enough to be fascinated by the TV coverage of the conventions and the election. That got me started on political activity. When JFK ran, I was a sophomore in high school, and volunteered to help with my local Democratic Party organization.

But, I never forgot Ike. He was a good guy.

[PatSeg]

18. Same here

The only reason I remember both elections and the pins was my father was a precinct captain, so politics was a big deal in our house. He stayed involved until Watergate. After that he felt betrayed. I can't recall him ever discussing politics after that. Also it didn't help that Illinois had both Democratic and republican governors go to prison. He had supported William Stratton. At the time people thought political corruption was just a Democratic thing because of the Chicago political machine. What a letdown when Dad's political heroes turned out corrupt as well.

[MyOwnPeace]

34. Ike had a couple of things working for him that none do now......

1. He was everybody's "grandpa." Yeah, he and Mamie had that "American Gothic" look and style, even retreating to a farm in the Gettysburg area now and then. How could you not vote for Grandpa?

2. He was a war hero, and the voting population was filled with veterans and families of veterans. He was THE man for D-day, took the responsibility and credit for it - and deservedly so!

And yes, I think he'd certainly be labeled as a "moderate Democrat" now. Need proof, look at his "Beware of the Military-Industrial Complex" speech! Go ahead, just TRY and envision those words coming out of a Republican mouth now!

[PatSeg]

38. I know

I didn't hear the Military-Industrial Complex until I was an adult and it blew me away. If I had heard it as a child, it probably didn't stick.

I agree, Ike would be considered a moderate Democrat today. I'm sure he got votes from republicans and Democrats alike. The only people who seemed to hate him were John Birch Society people who accused him of being a communist. That was rich, a war hero who defeated the Nazis was really a communist!

He was the perfect candidate for the time. After the Great Depression and World War II, people were ready for a time of peace and stability, kind of a breather before the raucous sixties and Vietnam.

[MyOwnPeace]

41. AND........

he didn't like Nixon!

What's not to like?

[PatSeg]

42. I was going to say that as well!!

[Dennis Donovan]

10. "Joe Knows..."

...and fill in the blank with just about anything!

[PatSeg]

20. Do you remember in 2007-08 the

"Joe's Right" tagline? Several Democratic candidates said it during debates and Joe's campaign picked up on it.

[PatrickforO]

12. Everybody did like Ike. They did. I remember my parents did.

I always was under the impression that the anti-intellectualism movement of the Republican party began with the campaign between Ike and Adlai when Richard Nixon, acting as a surrogate for Ike, called Adlai Stevenson an egghead.

Had to be Nixon, right?

But you're right, we don't have a slogan. The Republicans (Trumpists now - the old Republicans are gone) have MAGA - Make America great again. It harks back to idyllic days in white suburbia back in the fifties and early sixties, and fits on a hat. Even someone militantly proud of their own stupidity and ignorance can remember that.

What do we have? I mean slogan-wise? Should we have a slogan? How can we condense all the stuff that needs to be done?

Clean air - healthcare?

Democrats are good for the people?

I don't know. I'm not much at developing slogans. The ones above are a bit lame.

Funny (and kind of pathetic) story. My state representative is a right wing-nut, so I actively supported a Democratic candidate to take her place. I went to a gathering to pick up a yard sign. I turned it around and saw that it said,

"Make politics boring again."

Seriously.

I sighed, picked it up, and put it in my yard, knowing with SURETY that the day after the election, I would still be represented by the wing-nut.

[PatSeg]

23. Actually that is a good sentiment

"Make politics boring again."

I remember when politics didn't dominate our lives 24/7. We actually could focus on other things, knowing the world wasn't going to collapse at any time. I took for granted the competence of many of our elected officials and government servants. Of course, there were scandals and corruption, but usually the system was able to deal with it.

[PatrickforO]

35. Good point. I've thought wistfully about those days, too. But..........

Consider this:

We swung too far away from being engaged with local, state and national politics, and too far toward just trusting in the competence of those representing us and hoping for the best.

I firmly believe it is our (majority of Americans) lack of engagement that created the vacuum filled by lobbies, and now super pacs. I mean, it is to the point where we can legitimately say that many of our politicians no longer represent or even care about what we think or want, but instead are beholden to these special interests because to get elected takes more and more and more money each time around.

[PatSeg]

40. Oh yes

I totally agree with that and I was one who wasn't engaged in politics for many years. I started getting interested again somewhat when Clinton was elected, but I became obsessed when GW Bush was "appointed" president and have been ever since. I could take a lot breaks during the Obama years, however.

I am older and wiser now and I understand that it is vital for people to be involved in their democracy if it is to survive.

[rurallib]

19. OK - now I've got this ear worm in my head and I have to get it out

[MineralMan]

21. That's great! I hadn't seen that for years.

A simpler time. Not a better time, but simpler.

[PatSeg]

24. Wow, that really is catchy!

There was a similar one for JFK, no substance, but catchy.

[pandr32]

29. Go with Joe

[virgogal]

30. The first president I voted for was Ike.

[MineralMan]

31. Wow! You've been in this longer than I have.

[virgogal]

32. I am VERY well seasoned.

[MineralMan]

33. LOL!

[bluestarone]

36. I like (Joes my man, If he can't do it no one can!)

[bearsfootball516]

37. Obama's "Yes We Can" in 2008 is pretty close.

Those might be the two most iconic campaign slogans.

[MineralMan]

39. Yes, but I think we've moved beyond slogans and jingles in presidential

races. So much has changed since Ike ran in 1952. Just in terms of communication, there's almost no comparison. In 1952, small town America had the daily newspaper from the county seat and a little bit of news on the radio. That was it. Now, we're bombarded around the clock with news and advertising.

Simple campaign stuff doesn't work the way it used to at all. Not in national elections, anyhow. You can still win a city council seat by knocking on every door in your district. That happened here in St. Paul this November. A young Hmong woman did exactly that, and won the seat from our ward. She literally knocked on every door in the ward, and her brothers did it again, twice. She just flat out won, in a field of six candidates. Nobody had ever heard of her before and it was her first campaign, at age 27. But that's as far as that kind of campaigning goes any more.

Slogans are good, but they're not enough. It's a different world.

[zackymilly]

43. Yearn for Bern? n/t

[Otto Lidenbrock]

44. A former neighbour of mine (now deceased) was a republican and he hated Ike

Actually a nice guy but I remember discussing the 2000 election with him and the GOP inner battle during the primary that there was no "real conservative" running. I said how can you not think George W Bush and John McCain aren't conservative enough given how far his party moved since Ike. Then suddenly he blunted out that "Ike was a phony. He was nominated saying he would remove Truman's policies but instead he expanded them".

[needledriver]

45. I Go Joe!

Simple. Direct. Personalizes the choice.

As for "I Like Ike!" as all time best?

I dunno. "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!" is still catchy 180 years after the campaign it was coined for - although the genocidal reference would probably not play as well in 2019.

All the way with JFK!

Nixon's the One! (Yeah, right.)

My favorite for that campaign was "Don't switch Dicks in the middle of a screw - vote for Nixon in '72!