How much does punctuation matter? A lot, if you are running the Obama re-election campaign.
President Obama's campaign has received a punctuation boost thanks to a well-placed exclamation point. From now until election day, all campaign materials will now say "Forward!" replacing the previous, more stoic version, "Forward."
The ChristianPost noted that the slogan change, which comes less than two weeks away from the Nov. 6 election, is set to target Obama supporters in order to convey a sense of urgency before what many are predicting to be one of the closest presidential elections in history.
The Washington Times criticized the new slogan, comparing the term to that used to describe communist and radical publications of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Citing Wikipedia, Washington Times writer Victor Morton said, "The slogan 'Forward!' reflected the conviction of European Marxists and radicals that their movements reflected the march of history, which would move forward past capitalism and into socialism and communism."
Morton further ties Obama to communism in his piece stating, "Conservative critics of the Obama administration have noted numerous ties to radicalism and socialists throughout Mr. Obama's history, from his first political campaign being launched from the living room of two former Weather Underground members, to appointing as green jobs czar Van Jones, a self-described communist."
Obama campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki told the Associated Press that the exclamation point was added to “Forward” simply to symbolize “the stakes in this election and energy at our events."
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