2.26.2008: Will They Play in Peoria?

Just like Illinois high-school basketball teams, our prospective presidential candidates are locked in a battle to play in Peoria.

The state’s hoops teams dream of winning seven consecutive games for a chance to play the championship in Peoria just as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama hope to become the Democrat who gets to square off against John McCain in a fight for the voters of Peoria.

The phrase “Will it play in Peoria?” dates back to the days of vaudeville in a question as to whether a product or performance would have a wide enough appeal to attract a large audience. The Nixon Administration then used the phrase in addressing whether particular policies would gain favor among voters in a stereotypically average American city.

Our top presidential contenders are now facing the same task.

So far, the primary campaigns have addressed how Democratic voters feel about the Democratic candidates and which Republican is preferred by Republican voters.

To maneuver through this portion of their journey, Barack and Hillary tailored their positions and messages to appeal to the most liberal voters in America just as John McCain had to tout himself as a true conservative to survive the selection processes conducted by the most conservative American voters.

But the vast majority of American voters live in between the ideological extremes of these two camps. The winner of the General Election in November will be the candidate who can appeal to more moderate voters who often swing between the two parties.

After all of these years, voter preference in Peoria will still be the best gauge of this appeal.

Peorians want government to tackle the rising cost of health care and the loss of manufacturing jobs, but these voters are also hesitant to remove troops from Iraq if it means that Iran will gain in strength. They want to make sure they have access to Social Security, but they fear the government’s tremendous budget debts. They marvel at the enterprising spirit of the country’s business leaders, but they question whether these financial elites deserve more tax cuts.

With such a broad array of concerns, it takes a tall order to play in Peoria. But no matter whether its basketball or politics, success in Peoria usually comes to those who show versatility in redrawing a successful playoff strategy that is enhanced for the championship game.

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