The US elections offer opportunities and a warning
By Douglas Alexander
—The race for the White House is far from over and the result far from certain, but what I witnessed at this year’s convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, convinced me that the Democrats know what it takes to win the trust and support of voters – at a time when both are in such short supply. And voters across America seemed to agree – the president was rewarded for the strong and coherent message coming out of the convention with a bounce in the polls, putting him ahead in a race that had been neck-and-neck only weeks before.
Michelle Obama’s convention speech was a powerful defence of the president as a man, a father and a husband. Her aim was to convince voters that he was still the man in whom they had invested so much hope four years ago.
Bill Clinton defended the Democrats’ record in one of the most skilful political speeches heard in years. He said before the speech that when voters are hurting, ‘explanation beats eloquence every time’. So he batted away attacks levelled by the Republicans at Barack Obama’s economic record with facts, and with his characteristic flair he set out why they were wrong and the Democrats were right.
This set the stage for the president’s acceptance speech to focus on sharing his vision for the future. That judgement, to make a serious speech about the serious challenges America faces, reflects the truth that all politicians today have to respond to the overwhelming sense that politics is small when the issues are big. Indeed, it is hard to overstate the imprisoning cynicism the public feel today towards both politicians and the practice of politics. This crisis of trust has been compounded by the economic crisis of recession. People are struggling, fearful about the future, and hope is at a minimum.
Politics as usual just will not cut it. We need a different quality of debate – one worthy of the serious times we are experiencing as the country seeks national recovery and renewal. That was the tone Obama aimed for in Charlotte – speaking truth from power – the essential task of a political leader.
Here in the UK, the government has the wrong priorities, stands up for the wrong people and is making terrible mistakes – but if we simply try and blame the Conservatives for everything we risk not being believed on anything. And as politicians we need to make a fine but important distinction between drawing out differences with opponents, and getting sucked into attacks that simply leave both sides less popular. Labour wins when we offer a politics of building and not just blaming. In acknowledging the challenges our country faces we can most effectively enlist the public in the task of building back up.
But there was another key insight that I drew from the Democratic convention, one which suggests both good and bad news for us.
The good news for Democrats is that even when the economic situation is tough, the most recent polls suggest that the incumbent can still win. In elections, as Obama’s poll ratings suggest, empathy matters as well as economics. The US economy is still struggling, but unlike Nicolas Sarkozy in France earlier this year, the president still retains residual trust from disappointed voters.
But a re-elected incumbent would, from a British perspective, contain a warning for all of us in Labour. It is true that David Cameron has never enjoyed the support earned by Obama or indeed Tony Blair, but this also means he has less far to fall.
Elections always come down to a choice, and this choice is determined by the story each party tells about itself, the condition of the country, and the demands and opportunities of the future. So our task now is to write the next chapter of that story. Even in the face of a government in disarray, victory can never be presumed, but it can be earned. And it is to the hard work of that endeavour that we must recommit ourselves at this conference. The millions who desperately need a change of government deserve nothing less.
—————————————————————————————
Douglas Alexander MP is the shadow foreign secretary
—————————————————————————————