IN every presidential election, a battle royal of taglines erupts among the presidentiables to promote their candidacies. Presidential taglines are the political campaign slogans. They are normally catchy and pithy phrases that project the best feature of the aspirants to keep them alive in the minds of the voters.
In the US and in the Philippines, no presidential bet has gone out in the hustings without arming himself with a campaign slogan, which becomes his political battle cry. Remember President Ramon Magsaysay’s campaign slogan? “Our democracy will die kung wala si Magsaysay.” With the lurid photograph of then Secretary of National Defense Magsaysay carrying the lifeless body of Moises Padilla in his arms, people realized that our fragile democracy was at its death throes. Coupled with the tune of “Mambo, Mambo, Magsaysay,” his political jingle, the voters just went crazy about it and catapulted The Guy to the presidency in 1953. Such is the magic of a catchphrase in rallying people behind a political leader and his cause. On the other hand, the intended catchphrase may boomerang and fall flat on its face. A good example of this was the slogan of NY Governor Al Smith, the first Catholic to run for US president in 1928 at the height of Prohibition. He ran on an anti-Prohibition platform that makes drinking alcohol legal. So he was dubbed “wet candidate.” His slogan said it all, “Make your wet dreams come true.” The voters were repulsed because of its sexual innuendo and the fact that taking booze was supposedly against the teachings of his faith.
Sometimes, instead of animating supporters, the opposite happens and the slogan is cannibalized to deride the candidate. This was the case of Senator Barry Goldwater whose extreme conservative ideals were criticized by his political opponents. Goldwater came out with his slogan, “In your heart, you know it’s right” in the 1964 presidential contest. His adversary, President Lyndon B. Johnson, countered this with his own slogan, “In your guts, you know he’s nuts.” Johnson clobbered Goldwater with an overwhelming victory at the polls.
At the height of the Great Depression in America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt challenged the incumbent, President Herbert Hoover, with a winning slogan, “Happy Days Are Here Again.” It aimed to enliven the economy and buoy up the people’s depressed mood and spirit. When it was his turn to seek the US presidency, General Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower trounced the Democratic bet, Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II, with his simple tagline that he adopted in 1952, “I like Ike.” Ike was a popular war hero and his slogan captured the mood of the ordinary Americans. It was plain and honest and embodied Eisenhower’s simple character. Yet it was so effective, giving Ike a landslide win over his cerebral opponent. Other flashy slogans that helped boost candidates were: “Keep cool with Coolidge,” which President Calvin Coolidge adopted in the 1924 presidential election. Running on a peace platform in 1916 after the 1st World War broke out in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson was reelected on the strength of his strong efforts not to engage his country in the raging war. His campaign tagline, “He kept us out of war,” resonated with the general public. And who would ever forget George H.W. Bush’s tagline, “Read my lips: No new taxes,’’ only to violate it when the US economy took a spin. When President Bush ran for reelection against Arizona Governor Bill Clinton, the latter’s slogan spelled in no uncertain terms the issue in that election: “It’s the economy, stupid!” And the Americans loved Clinton for that.
Filipino presidentiables are no less creative when it comes to sloganeering. When Senate President Ferdinand E. Marcos challenged incumbent President Diosdado P. Macapagal in 1965 who had promised to serve only for one term to give others a chance to occupy Malacañang, Marcos’s slogan was direct and harsh, “Alis diyan,” and the voters followed Marcos. Later, after over two decades of staying in power under an authoritarian rule, Cory Aquino’s battle cry during the snap election in 1986 was a shout out for Marcos to vacate power: “Tama na, sobra na.” When it was his turn to run for president, Joseph “Erap” Estrada came up with a short but powerful campaign slogan. “Erap para sa mahirap” captured the essence of his strong pro-poor stance, which he had portrayed in all of his toughie movie roles. This was enough for Erap to prevail over a wide field of candidates that were more deserving to hold the office of the presidency. But he was dislodged by the 2nd People Power due to charges of corruption and involvement in illegal games. His successor, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, suffered from corruption charges as well, and other irregularities.
Benigno Aquino III capitalized on the weaknesses of his predecessors and coined the famous lines: “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.” This carried him to Malacañang in 2010. Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte garnered the people’s support with his slogan, which was supposed to personify his qualities as a leader: “Tapang at malasakit,” and the sovereign people gave him the highest position within their power to give. But after the charges of EJKs have surfaced, some people now think that there is more “tapang” to it.
The current crops of presidentiables in this year’s election have also put up their own taglines. VP Leni Robredo has just adopted a new one: “Gobyernong tapat, angat buhay lahat.” She finally found her bearing that a message of honest and incorrupt government is the answer to our economic woes. On Bongbong Marcos’s part, he dreams to awaken our country from stupor with his slogan: “Bayan babangong muli.” Although critics had recently scored him by claiming that he even failed to rise from his bed to attend the early morning hearing of the disqualification cases filed against him. Mayor Isko Moreno encapsulates his youth and vigor in his chosen campaign slogan: “Bilis Kilos.” This projects his quick and immediate response to the pandemic crisis and disasters. Senator Panfilo Lacson’s tagline is: “We need a leader 2022.” As an experienced public servant, he has chosen to emphasize his track record to distinguish himself from less seasoned aspirants. Our bible-quoting presidentiable, Senator Manny Pacquiao, as expected has put up “For God and country” but I read in one of his campaign leaflets the words: “Taong nanggaling sa hirap and siyang kakalinga sa mga mahihirap.” This stresses his compelling narrative to identify himself with the common masses. I have not heard from other candidates but I’m sure they’ll all come up with their own colorful taglines that will be easy to recall and hard to forget by the voters.
Coming up with words that will win for the candidate is an art by itself. As the famous writer and wit William Safire has once said: “Good slogans have rhyme, reason or alliteration to make them memorable.” And if I may add, it should capture the personae of the candidate or his passion to serve, which will keep him locked in the peoples’ hearts.