Hillary Clinton spoke just 94 words in her presidential announcement video, but she managed to send five important messages about her coming presidential campaign.
First, Clinton indicated she believes 2016 will be another election about the economy. “Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times, but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top,” Clinton said. “Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion — so you can do more than just get by — you can get ahead.” Contrary to the argument that 2016 could be a foreign policy election, Clinton’s kickoff video contained no clues that the speaker is a former secretary of state or that we live in a dangerous world.
Second, Clinton indicated that she doesn’t feel the need to re-introduce herself to the American people. She said nothing about who she is, what she has done, or why she is running for president. And of course, she didn’t kick off her campaign with a speech or a more extended discussion of her candidacy, even though a significant number of people in the political world readily admit that they don’t exactly know the rationale for her candidacy.
Third, Clinton indicated that she knows voters suspect she feels entitled to the job. “I’m hitting the road to earn your vote, because it’s your time,” she said. This time, she is promising she won’t assume that people will vote for her (although she still might).
Fourth, Clinton indicated her campaign will be all about trying to keep the Obama coalition together. That message came not in Clinton’s own words but in the words and pictures of the “everyday Americans” who make up most of the announcement video. “This was a celebration of what National Journal’s Ron Brownstein called the ‘coalition of the ascendant’ — the young people, minorities, and college-educated whites — especially women — who helped give Barack Obama his two victories and who Democrats think are the key to a string of future presidential victories,” wrote Slate’s John Dickerson on Sunday. The Clinton video was a 2 minute and 18 second primer on the coalition of the ascendant.
Fifth, Clinton indicated she fully supports gay marriage and will work to win the support of gays unhappy with her slow (for a Democrat) change of mind on the marriage issue. “I’m getting married this summer to someone I really care about,” says one man in the video before the camera reveals him holding hands with another man. A shot later in the video features another same-sex couple, this time two women.
Clinton’s part in the video was so brief it could have been sent out in its entirety in just four tweets. And yet Clinton packed a lot of information into her announcement. Fast forward 18 months, when there will have been hundreds of thousands of words spoken in the campaign, and Clinton’s announcement video might still be the most succinct statement of how she approached the 2016 race.
