White House hopefuls and their 2008 mood music

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa (AFP) — Whether it's with rock star swagger, corny Irish jokes, boardroom-like seminars, storm-the-barricades rhetoric or motherly soothing, each White House hopeful has a unique pitch to voters.

Candidates' acts are now honed by months traipsing through school gyms, churches, diners and living rooms on the campaign trail, as they spar for final undecided voters before Iowa hosts the first 2008 nominating showdown Thursday.

Most campaign events have a few things in common, including ubiquitous American flags, speeches invoking revered ex-presidents, and appeals to now-mythic episodes of America's past.

But the similarities end there.

Democrat Barack Obama hits rhetorical heights seldom seen in modern politics, ex-first lady Hillary...