The iPad? There's A Party For That

Today is a day for salesmanship of Big Things -- the president's commitment to his governing agenda in the State of the Union and the introduction of the highly anticipated -- and anti-anticipated -- Apple tablet device, named, surely to please Trekkers, the iPad. Now, the iPad is going to sell. Customers would snap it up even if they didn't know what it did, because of Apple's brand strength.

Republicans and Democrats...let's just say that their storehouses are full of excess inventory. (Democrats have a bigger store, and are losing more customers at the moment.) Perhaps the parties can borrow some lessons from the iPad marketing. Indeed, let's extend the analogy: which party best represents the iPad? Which party can best adapt the Apple philosophy to their brands?

The Democrats might suggest that the iPad, like government, is a platform that allows the user -- or people -- experience a rich connection with civil society. Apple products in general have proven to be fertile soil for entrepreneurs -- the creators of apps, in this vision, but there is a set of rules in place. And while Google's app platform is more open, by setting standards, Apple ensures that each app won't mess up its programming. Apps represent variety; the series of Apple products points to a vision of a mildly technocratic society where everyone can use the same toolset to pursue their own ends. But everyone starts from an equal position and possesses the resources -- the social technology -- to live a productive life. Also, the iPad's real play is not for media but for education; an iPad in every classroom (or an equivalent device) could be a standard line on the stump. Global connectivity, high standards, green energy -- less book production! -- these are the buzz words.

The Republican vision is a bit different. Think of an iPhone app as would-be entrepreneur who opens a corner shop and relies on his or her own devices -- and the power of the market -- to earn a profit and grow. As @thetonylee puts it, Republicans could use the iPad or the iPhone  as a symbol for a new Republican governing philosophy based on flexibility, portability (think of health savings accounts and insurance portability) and customizability. Or, Republicans could demagogue: with liberals raising taxes, innovations like the i{Pad would never make it to market. And the liberal approach: it's like stale old IBM. (Liberals might retort that IBM has retooled itself and now sells solutions, rather than products.)

Republicans, suggests Mr. Lee, might even use the iPad directly to introduce an iContract with America. In 1994, the GOP had a plan, on paper; in 2010, if their leadership gets their act together, they can reimagine the entire concept of a political platform.

More prosaically, since the Supreme Court opened the floodgates for even more political ads in 2010 and 2012, perhaps the iPad will be our only respite from the onslaught.