Frank Mankiewicz and Joel L. Swerdlow: The Days of Presidential Slogans May Be Gone
[Frank Mankiewicz, a former president of NPR, was press secretary to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Joel L. Swerdlow is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas. They are co-authors of "Remote Control: Television and the Manipulation of American Life."]
This week marks the 50th anniversary of when John F. Kennedy, accepting his party's presidential nomination, first mentioned to a national audience his "New Frontier." The phrase, of course, took hold, and the Kennedy administration became the New Frontier. In the intervening half-century, however, no other phrase has come along to describe a presidency in any similarly strong way. This absence is notable, particularly since JFK was proceeding on a path taken by at least four of his predecessors in the previous 50 years.
Franklin D. Roosevelt campaigned by offering "a new deal for the American people," and once in the White House he continued -- and encouraged others -- to talk about the New Deal....One would think a pattern had been set, given the communications revolution of, first, radio and then television, but in the terms of 11 chief executives after FDR -- 12 if you count the current president -- only Harry Truman's "Fair Deal" and JFK's "New Frontier" have followed.
Interestingly, those phrases came to describe not only an administration but also its operatives and supporters. Just as JFK's followers became "New Frontiersmen," FDR's people were "New Dealers" and Truman's were "Fair Dealers."...
Read entire article at WaPo
This week marks the 50th anniversary of when John F. Kennedy, accepting his party's presidential nomination, first mentioned to a national audience his "New Frontier." The phrase, of course, took hold, and the Kennedy administration became the New Frontier. In the intervening half-century, however, no other phrase has come along to describe a presidency in any similarly strong way. This absence is notable, particularly since JFK was proceeding on a path taken by at least four of his predecessors in the previous 50 years.
Franklin D. Roosevelt campaigned by offering "a new deal for the American people," and once in the White House he continued -- and encouraged others -- to talk about the New Deal....One would think a pattern had been set, given the communications revolution of, first, radio and then television, but in the terms of 11 chief executives after FDR -- 12 if you count the current president -- only Harry Truman's "Fair Deal" and JFK's "New Frontier" have followed.
Interestingly, those phrases came to describe not only an administration but also its operatives and supporters. Just as JFK's followers became "New Frontiersmen," FDR's people were "New Dealers" and Truman's were "Fair Dealers."...