Is 'Obamacare' a marketing stunt for the 2012 campaign?

The word 'Obamacare' used to design in a negative way a series of liberal measures taken to improve the condition of low-income citizens, mainly through welfare programs. The team behind President Obama decided to take possession of this expression and asked supporters to start using it on Twitter and such. This is a classic marketing move: as a keyword or an idea is being used to build a competitor's credibility by being overtly critical, the criticized company takes possession of this idea. This is particularly relevant on the internet: anyone looking for anti-Obama posts on Twitter is going to find supportive posts using the hashtag #Obamacare. A simple Google search for the term 'Obamacare' shows mixed results instead of anti-Obama content like it used to.

Is Obama getting ready for the campaign? Embracing the term 'Obamacare' was definitely a smart move: he is presenting himself as someone who is ready to accept his mistakes, talk about them and hopefully learn from them. I would like to see a solid plan to properly finance these programs. Perhaps a few of these programs could even be canceled: the so-called 'Obama phones' have been very costly and their positive impact is something I have yet to see.

However, by announcing a reform of the Obamacare programs, President Obama is taking the risk of losing the votes he secured during his term in office by establishing extensive welfare programs. The campaign is still in its early stages and it is too early to be sure which audience Obama is going to choose this time. In 2008, his dynamic personality and ambitious plans convinced a majority of voters, as well as the fact that a first African-American president would be an important symbol. Four years later, we have fully digested this symbol as a culture. We are richer for it and President Obama will go down in history as a representative president – but this time, we need more than a symbol to elect him again. I hope he will make the right choice and come up with a plan that is in the best interest of this country regarding the Obamacare programs.