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Obama for President in Italy?

by Karen Hatter | February 15, 2008 at 05:19 am

2244 views | 17 Recommendations | 13 comments

Uh, no. Senator Barack Obama is not on any ballot in Italy. However, one of the candidates in the Italian prime minister's race has drawn inspiration from the senator's campaign, embracing the United States Senator's slogan, Yes We Can.

Honestly, I chuckled out loud as I listened to this story on National Public Radio this morning.

Walter Veltroni, former two term mayor of Rome and leader of the new Democratic Party, known to adore American culture, is modeling his campaign after the Senator's U.S. presidential campaign.

He is quoted, saying, “Yes we can, yes we can” and further:

Barack Obama first said this when the road seemed closed, and now it's open wide.

The Obama campaign slogan has even been translated, "si puo fare" and set to music.

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, 71, is currently in the lead in this race. Mr. Veltroni, 52, whose nickname is Mr. Nice Guy, is hoping to take advantage of the mounting displeasure among the Italian people of business as usual and the long practiced trends of corruption in European government, promoting himself as the candidate for change.

I wonder if the senator might sue for copyright infringement on his slogan. Probably not!

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Jordan Yerman

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 06:21 on February 15th, 2008

Obama's campaign struck gold with that slogan- it's simple, easy to remember and- apparently- easily translatable!

Karen Hatter

at 09:44 on February 15th, 2008

I agree! It's short and sweet.

ryan

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 11:24 on February 15th, 2008

Karen Hatter, that really speaks to the power of Obama and the momentum of his campaign and power of his rhetoric.

Karen Hatter

at 12:02 on February 15th, 2008

Yes, it surely does, Ryan!

ryan

at 14:00 on February 15th, 2008

Obamamania has also spread to Japan.

denseatoms

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:28 on February 15th, 2008

Even though Obama's slogan is more positive, he would probably first have to go to court with the owners of the copyright to "The Little Engine That Could." And the Italian "Si puo fare" is a scad (un poco) different that "Yes, we can" -- It's literally "It can be done" and so is really closer to "Can do!"

Interesting story, at any rate. Some politicians may not want to hear that their political catchwords are direct equivalents of the Italian Fascist slogan, "Dio. Patria. Famiglia." -- "God. Country. Family."

Karen Hatter

at 11:12 on February 16th, 2008

Thanks, as always, for breaking down the language, Denseatoms. The Little Engine said, " I think I can! I think I can!". Is that the same or a conjugation of 'can do', in Italian?

ojt

at 10:27 on February 16th, 2008

I think we should send Obama to Italy.

ojt

at 10:28 on February 16th, 2008

I think we should send Obama to Italy.

club penguin (not verified)

at 23:01 on June 7th, 2009

He would probably first have to go to court with the owners of the copyright to "The Little Engine That Could." And the Italian "Si puo fare" is a scad (un poco) different that "Yes, we can" -- It's literally "It can be done" and so is really closer to "Can do!"

law blogger (not verified)

at 10:30 on July 22nd, 2009

President Obama's slogan: "Yes We Can." appears to fit nicely in political campaigns whose target is to win the hearts and minds of those voters who think that there is hope after complete economic meltdown. If majority of the voters believe in this philosophy, there are good chances that such political candidates may win the elections for the right reasons. <a href="http://www.sidgilreath.com/practice-areas/MedicalMalpractice/">memphis medical malpractice attorneys</a>
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mr law (not verified)

at 10:35 on July 22nd, 2009

"Yes We Can." has become a famous slogan in the world after Obama's historic election victory in America. Italian Walter Veltroni and others have begun following similar slogans for their own election campaigns so they can simulate Barack's huge victory patterns. memphis medical malpractice attorneys PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait...wait... Rank: wait... Traffic: wait... Price: wait... C: wait...

memphis medical malpractice attorneys (not verified)

at 10:42 on July 22nd, 2009

"Yes We Can." means change is possible and a nation's economic crisis can be fixed if all its citizens can work together as one nation. Since Italy needs a similar fix, it's not surprising that such slogans are also being used in its political campaigns too.
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