Tim Pawlenty campaigns for President in Iowa: August 2011.
Photo of Bruce Mann, husband of US Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren
Political imagery is important in a campaign. Whether it is overt or subtle, political campaigns understand that campaigns are emotional ventures and that voters respond to images even more so than the substance of a campaign. Above are two photos from recent political campaigns. The first is a photo of former Minnesota Governor, Tim Pawlenty, at an Iowa campaign event in 2011. Pawlenty, a Republican, campaigned for President in 2011, but dropped from the race after a poor showing at the Iowa Straw Poll in August of that year. The second photo is not of a candidate, but of a candidate’s husband. Bruce Mann is the spouse of US Senate candidate, Elizabeth Warren. Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has had difficulty in connecting with voters during her campaign. In both photos, there are messages sent out to capture a voter’s attention. What images do you see?
Politics Matters 
I see in the first picture, a man trying to hint that he is as patriotic as Washington.
In the second picture she is trying to display her family is like everyone else.
Pawlenty’s picture strives to look like a professional politician with ties to our history. His attire and background are indicative of this. The second picture depicts a tee-shirt wearing, beer- drinking “guy next door” image. This may be an attempt to be relatable to many Americans.
Tim Pawlenty’s tries to visually instill that he, just like Washington, wil be a good strong American leader. In the second picture Elizabeth Warren tries to appeal to the average American by allowing us to relate to her husband who might be considered the average American.
Pawlenty’s picture is more professional/working moment and Warren’s picture shows a more relaxed/related moment.
In Pawlenty’s picture there is a politician whose appeal is he can relate to a white land owner; such as, George Washington. The second picture of Bruce Mann with a grin saying look, I’m doing this for my wife.
Tim Pawlenty seems to be trying to associate himself with the founders. He is trying to paint himself as a strong American leader. The photo of Bruce Mann is a transparent attempt to connect with the common working man. Pawlenty’s efforts obviously didn’t work (we all know how well his campaign went). Warren’s attempt must have went a little better as she is still in the race and most polls have her with a small lead as of today (10/19).