Re: "It's the economy, Stupid"

Posted by ESC on February 04, 2003

In Reply to: Re: "It's the *, Stupid" posted by R. Berg on February 04, 2003

: : : : Hello, I was just hoping some one might know the original formulation and source of this rebuke. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

: : : It's the economy, stupid. This was a sign hung in Bill Clinton's campaign headquarters to keep everybody "on message" in 1992. James Carville put it there.

: : I could've sworn there was an earlier instance, with some thing other than "economy". May be I'm wrong, though.

: Before that, there was "Keep it simple, stupid." Not quite the same thing, of course.

IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID! - "formulaic reminder of central issue or goal. James Carville, Bill Clinton's political strategist in the 1992 election, placed a sign over his desk in the Little Rock headquarters: 'It's the economy, Stupid!' For a campaigner fixed on a need for a central theme, the sign encapsulated a pointed response to the question 'What is the campaign about?'." The entry lists other "stupid phrases": "Kiss Me, Stupid," a 1964 movie by Billy Wilder and the 1970s advertising "KISS formula' which stood for "keep it simple, Stupid." From "Safire's New Political Dictionary" by William Safire, (Random House, New York, 1993.)