Don't think of an elephant.

                                                       -2- Enter the Terminator

                  http://education.makemeheal.com/index.php/Schwarzenegger,_Arnold

In 2003 the actor and bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor in California; how on earth did this happen? George Lakoff believes that his success is product of the way his campaign was framed.

In order to have a successful campaign, the different implications of the social context have to be framed. In this example of Arnie Schwarzenegger we can spot the different frames  used to take the actor to his victory:

·         The Voter Revolt frame, assuming that the Democrat Gray Davis was incompetent or corrupt; but they stood up and righteously replaced him for someone better.

·         The Great Noncommunicator frame where Davis was set, assuming he was a responsible administrator and a competent governor; unfortunately he was unable to communicate his achievements.

·         The Kooky Californians frame, Californians cannot distinguish Sci-Fi from reality, thus a movie hero could be also be a hero in the real world.

·         The people beat the politicians frame, Arnie framed the Republicans as “the people” and democrats as politics.

·         The just a celebrity frame does not give a reason about why Swarzenegger would win; however Lakoff is able to relate this event to something that democrats have not realized, the idea that voters have about the nation as their family, their values, the cultural stereotypes and culture heroes. The strict Father against the nurturant parent. Arnie had the ultimate strictness; he was not only tough but also extraordinary.

·         The Up by His Bootstraps frame, this frames Arnold Swarzenegger just by his own qualities as a human being.

According with George Lakoff, The Voters revolt is where Arnie’s campaign can be framed; it was the fact that the other candidate was not good and needed to be replaced.