Dems’ top criterion is magic word ‘change’

The concept of change has deep historical roots.

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

CHICAGO — It has become the political version of the Gregorian chant. Candidates from both parties repeat it endlessly. Campaign operatives bleat it mindlessly. High school gyms commandeered for rallies seem to bounce and throb with it.

But what does the word “change” really mean? Is it more than just an empty slogan — the “equivalent of a smiley face,” as conservative columnist John L. O’Sullivan complains?

In an exit poll sponsored by Fox News after the New Hampshire primary, 54 percent of Democratic voters cited “can bring about needed change” as the most important criterion for selecting a candidate. Only 19 percent picked “experience” as the determining factor. Little wonder, then, that the word “change” has swamped the talking points of the presidential candidates. But is it more than a cliché, more than just another six-letter chunk of electoral claptrap?

Some observers think it is, pointing out that the concept of change has deep historical and philosophical roots, far outstripping its temporary political utility. And for every pundit and blogger who thinks “change” was a no-brainer of a rhetorical ploy in the race, as predictable as tomorrow’s sunrise over an Iowa cornfield, others note that until Sen. Barack Obama used the word to stoke his win in that state’s caucuses, most people thought “experience” and “competence” would be the watchwords of the 2008 campaign.

William Lee Miller, author of “Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography” (2002), notes that Lincoln was regarded as a change-oriented upstart in the 1860 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. “You could make the analogy that Lincoln was the lesser-known candidate from the hinterland and his opponent, William Seward of New York, was — like Sen. Hillary Clinton — the East Coast candidate, the candidate of Washington. And Seward was expected to win. In some ways, Lincoln won because he hadn’t been around long enough to make enemies, as had Seward. Lincoln was the fresh young face.”