Branding Obamessiah: The Rise of an American Idol

"Mark Edward Taylor gets to the heart of Obama's appeal." -- Cal Thomas In 2004 a cadre of Democratic advisers and communications experts hatched a plan to elect a largely unknown, biracial American to the highest office in the land in only four years. Knowing that its chosen one would have to rise above Hillary Clinton and then the Republican candidate, "Team Obama" created a new style of American political leader defined by "Sacred Six" characteristics: a creation story, sacred words, sacred images, sacred rituals, true believers, and a messianic leader. The Sacred Six became Barack Obama's "Devotional Code," eliciting enthused voter chants of Hope, Change, and Belief ("Yes we can!") and consummating a special relationship between faithful voters and the saintly candidate whom Oprah Winfrey baptized as "The One." 
Branding Obamessiah tells this amazing story by looking at everything from Team Obama's evangelistic rallies and iconic images to its sacred words and supra-racial rhetoric. Author Mark Edward Taylor examines Obama-themed comic books, magazines, logos, music, "holy" relics, social-media epistles, and children's books. He reveals the messianic rhetoric in Obama's carefully crafted autobiographical writings and public speeches. Taylor shows how such messianic imagery reinforced true believers' own hope-filled websites, blogs, publications, and videos. 
Branding Obamessiah includes nearly 1,000 endnotes with links to online audio, video, and text sources so readers can follow the fascinating tale of a multimedia campaign that generated more online news coverage and inspired more pro and con bloggers and YouTube videos than all previous presidential campaigns combined. Hardly anything Obama said or did escaped cameras, microphones, and online scrutiny. 
Branding Obamessiah is an engaging and illuminating trip through the most quasi-religious campaign of any modern US presidential candidate. The book also serves as a warning about the increasingly potent combination of entertainment, celebrity, social media, and religion in American politics. 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Foreword by Cal Thomas 
Introduction 
Prologue 
1 Getting in the Game 
PART ONE: Changing the Political Game 
2 Selling an American Product 
3 Marketing Subconscious Spirituality 
4 Branding Obamessiah 
5 Revealing the Sacred Six 
PART TWO: Composing a Creation Story 
6 Filling In Obama's Missing Years 
7 Targeting His Anger 
8 Remembering Fiction 
PART THREE: Chanting Sacred Words 
9 Keeping It Simple 
10 Feeling In the Blanks 
11 Seizing American Exceptionalism 
12 Changing the Truth 
PART FOUR: Venerating Sacred Images 
13 Seeing as Believing 
14 Photographing Deity 
15 Flipping through Obamagazines 
16 Sheparding the Sheeple 
17 Landing Logobama 
18 Viewing Negatives 
PART FIVE: Observing Sacred Rituals 
19 Traveling with Brother Love's Salvation Show 
20 Multitasking for the Messiah 
21 Collecting Campaign Relics 
22 Pilgrimaging to Holy Places 
PART SIX: Bringing in Believers 
23 Crowding around the One 
24 Programming Intimacy 
25 Tuning In to Barockstar 
PART SEVEN: Coloring the Messiah 
26 Absolving the National Guilt 
27 Changing the Election's Complexion 
28 Building a Millenarian Movement 
Epilogue 
Notes 
FROM THE PROLOGUE 
In the beginning Team Obama created the Sacred Six for branding Obamessiah. The Democrats were without form and void of leadership, and darkness was over the face of the convention and their nomination of John Kerry. But the spirit of Axelrod was hovering over the arena floor with the delegates and the press corps and the teleprompters . . .

Biographies & Memoirs

Taylor, Mark Edward

Leaders & Notable People

Edenridge Press

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Books by Taylor, Mark Edward

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Taylor, Mark Edward. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Branding Obamessiah: The Rise of an American Idol