In his presidential campaign, Barack Obama made good use of catchy phrases--phrases that are inspiring, and take hold of the imagination. But his phrases were vague enough to allow hearers to interpret them any way they wished. "Change You Can Believe In" can mean pretty much any change at all. "Yes, We Can" is grammatically vague: it has a pronoun without antecedent, and an auxilliary verb without a main verb.

These are excellent sales slogans. Anybody may choose to buy into the product, and each of us can define it in our own way. That is the danger of such a slogan: if each of us defines it ou own way, we can deceive ourselves into thinking it's what we want it to be. The beauty of such a slogan is that it can grab at heartstrings and engender a great deal of support.

will.i.am latched onto Obama's "Yes, We Can" slogan, and he added music, movement and youth in his video. Like the slogans, the video plays on our emotions, and draws us into excitement about the Obama campaign. It includes Obama's statement, "There is nothing false about hope." Thus we are assured that the excitement we feel is rooted in truth.

With his videos, will.i.am and friends, and other artists as well, became an active part of the Obama campaign. They made good use of youtube with a number of music (and other) videos that were actually campaign advertisements.

Similar slogan-singing music videos also appealed to Hispanic voters.

After Obama won the election, will.i.am incorporated the euphoria of Obama's supporters with his style of music in another video of celebration. This video reflected a sense of accomplishment in a long line of leaders who supported justice, with the outcomeof the 2008 presidential election a part of that story. "Yes, We Can" was a part of the new song, "It's a New Day."

will.i.am is aware that skeptics question the slogans of the Obama campaign. But he and others are convinced that the new president will bring change we can believe in, changes that we want to see.

As capable as president-elect Obama is, bringing needed changes to this nation will be complex. He will have to work on many levels to bring about a consensus, to blend the ideals of the variety of supporters who heard something they held onto in his campaign.

Slogans and music may continue to be useful in carrying out the Obama agenda. So will the wisdom of many Americans working from their own values for the common good.