In 2008 Political front runner Barack Obama won the presidential election. During this time, America had swayed into a recession which the economy suffered massive cutbacks and drowning in debt. America was also at war currently with Iraq which stirred up many other problematic issues to come about during this year. The media was and still is the main door way to the public to address these issues.
The agenda setting function during this year I believe was used during to 2008 presidential campaign to help Barack Obama’s odds in winning the job of president of the United States. In 2008, the recession hit more than half the country with foreclosures, banks had went upside down, America was still at war for not so obvious reasons, and the stock market was at an all-time low since the great depression. The media is the most common way we all receive information either through TV, internet, radio etc.I believe the media helped bring about certain problems that Current President Barack Obama and his cabinet felt they had to address in order to win the election. Agenda setting is the concept where for this example, each politician sets his campaign schedule and things he would like to address according to what they media and the public find of high importance. The first agenda setting example I believe was the American economy situation.
Results based on a phone survey of 714 likely voters conducted on Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2008 by CNN/Opinion Research Corporation showed that 57% of Americans thought the economy issue was the most important role in deciding who would be the next President. With this problem clearly on the minds of Americans, Barack Obama proposed a homeowner and Financial Support Act.
“First, it will provide capital to the financial system. Second, it will provide liquidity to enable our financial markets to function.And third, it will do what I have been calling for since I supported legislation on it early last spring, which is to get serious about helping struggling families to restructure their mortgages on more affordable terms so they can stay in their homes,” he said during a 2008 September speech. This clearly showed that the media and public had great concern on the home financial market and candidate Barack Obama used the agenda setting system in order to meet America’s needs that year. Other candidates that year had some great propositions as well but I want to focus on the Obama campaign.A phone survey of 342 likely voters by CNN/Opinion Research Corporation showed that after each candidate addressed this problem, 52% of Americans thought candidate Obama would be a better fit for President than the 44% that sided with Candidate John McCain.
With these statistics and specific issues America was facing, Independent voters and swing states like Ohio and Virginia felt comfortable with one thing; the problems Americans had to face in 2008 were a unanimous decision to get it fixed whether you were a Democrat, Republican, or Independent.The economy and the foreclosure problems of 2008 had the most impact on swing states and independent voters. Proposing to create a 10 billion dollar fund to help prevent foreclosures, stop some tax fees for families who must sell and offer counseling to homeowners. This would allow troubled homeowners to refinance their homes which would lead to tax credits to 10 million middle class homeowners who struggle with mortgage costs. John McCain proposed a similar financial assistance program for homeowners.
This made swing states interested in both democrat and republican parties because of the major issue at hand. The Agenda setting by both Democrats and republicans helped them in the election race because the issues exposed by the media had no side. Democrat or republican, money for the housing situation in 2008 was a common problem that had to be addressed by both parties which led to both parties using it as their advantage in the presidential race.In conclusion, the 2008 presidential election showed numerous times that agenda setting by the media was a crucial role on what they said, what problems came to their attention, and what categories could be set aside and which ones had to be addressed with extreme importance.
The economy issue was and still is an important issue that President Barack Obama and his cabinet still have to tackle. But as time goes on, new agendas will be put forward by the media and public and it will always play a crucial role in presidential elections for many years to come.
