On the Trail: Change you can believe in (regardless)

Change. It’s a word that has been a regular topic from the mouths of presidential candidates the past two years and especially at their national conventions this past month. By far, the main candidate associated with this word is Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). However, despite his catchy campaign phrases of “change and hope” and “hope and change,” Obama is no longer the lone member in the Presidential Change Club. In fact, in a poll last week, hundreds of likely voters were asked who they considered to be the “true candidate of change in this election.” Voter responses were surprising, with 50% saying Obama represented true change, while a shocking 44% considered Republican Party candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also a viable agent of reform for this country’s direction.

How can this be? McCain is the incumbent candidate of an unpopular party due to an unpopular administration; how can he provide change to a nation that is practically screaming for it? How can a 72-year-old man who has spent over a quarter of a century in Washington provide any change at all?

For one, though the Bush administration is currently unpopular, the average voter does not correlate John McCain as an active supporter of Team Bush. McCain has never been head-over-heels for “W” throughout the years and has irked the Republican base for this exact reason. McCain has been critical of Bush’s habit of spending billions of dollars this country does not have. McCain also was the leading advocate for change on Bush’s Iraq War strategy and was the main supporter of a 30,000 troop surge that has improved the status of the war from “catastrophe” to “imminent victory” — a feat that was considered impossible just two years ago. McCain has also diverged from the president and his party on issues that involve the environment, proposing bills to reduce Carbon emissions nationally.

Unfortunately for Obama and the Democrats, McCain is not a Bush clone. For months, Obama’s campaign has been trying to connect McCain to the despised presidential administration and claiming that the Democratic candidate would bring Republicans and Democrats together and change politics forever. However, McCain has a much more impressive resume for doing this than Obama. He has brought politicians from both sides of the aisle to get things done for decades and the average American has taken notice. Despite being a Republican following an unpopular Republican president, McCain does not fit the mold of a doomed challenger due to his career devoted to change.

However, despite all these points for change-cravers, it may not be enough due to the economic events of this past week. We have seen a very volatile stock market. The government bailout of AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has cast doubt over the stability of our economy. Investors are expressing a sense of timidity towards the formerly unshakable American economy. Some experts have suggested a global economic crisis is underway. This does not play well for McCain.

From the beginning, McCain has cast himself as a candidate that is an expert on national security and foreign policy. He admits the economy is not his forte. Consistently in the polls, Obama receives more favorable marks on the economy. As the focus of the election moves further away from foreign policy matters and starts dwelling on the economy and how to fix it, Obama clearly has the edge.

An important consequence of all this economic turmoil is how the campaign rhetoric has had to adapt to the challenges of a potential crisis. McCain, who had mentioned that the economy was “strong” a week ago, has now had to try to dig himself out of a hole by promoting the idea of economic change. Obama has been able to sit back and continue with his message of change but has tailored it to fit the tension that many Americans feel about a coming downfall of the economy.

Coming down the home stretch, we will see the candidates try to use their “change” message to gather in voters hungry for a different course for America. With the challenges we are facing in several different policy areas, and especially now with the current economic situation, a change in course is necessary. McCain and Obama both have a legitimate claim to being agents of reform, but the candidate who finds a message of change that resonates with the public will be the one left standing come November.