Words That Matter: The Significance of "Stories" in Obama's 2008 Election Campaign

• Main Author: Marta Degani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Verona 2014-06-01
• Series: Iperstoria
• Subjects: barack obama; discourse analysis
• Online Access: https://iperstoria.it/article/view/683

On November 4, 2008 people all over the world could celebrate the advent of a new era. The election of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th American President was a historic event of immense significance. For the first time in the history of American democracy, an African American was elected President of the United States. After eight years of policies that had increased military expenditure and broadened the gap between what Obama likes to call “Main Street” and “Wall Street”, the time of the Republican administration was eventually over. Obama was welcomed as the president promising renewal. He was seen as the leader who would move the country ahead and bring about real change in the lives of ordinary Americans. Being young for a person in that role and charismatic, he was capable of awaking American people’s subliminal needs for hope at a time of great uncertainty and economic instability.