Tonight President Obama will give his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention and you could play a drinking game based on the number of times the crowd will break into the chant “Four-More-Years! Four-More-Years!” We Americans love a good chant because you get the emotional high of being part of a team, but without having to do any of the hard work that normally qualifies you for a team like being in shape or being smart. The incumbent in a presidential election always has an advantage because he has the “Four-More-Years!” chant in his quiver of election weapons. A good chant intoxicates a crowd and the positive energy generated can influence the weak-minded to support something they in no way understand.
You might be interested to learn the chant originated at the Republican convention in 1984 when Reagan was seeking ‘Four-More-Years’ as president. Reagan told his advisers he was seeking a catchy chant that would sum up his case for voters giving him four more years. Historians have recently discovered the first draft of these potential chants, all of which Reagan rejected:
Four-More-Winters! Four-More-Springs! Four-More-Summers! Four-More-Falls!
208-More-Weeks! 208-More-Weeks!
Four-More-Arbor-Days! Four-More-Arbor-Days!
One-More-Leap-Year! One-More-Leap-Year!
Forty-Percent-of-the-Next-Decade! Forty-Percent-of-the-Next-Decade!
One-More-Year! And-Three-After-That!
28-Dog-Years-More! 28-Dog-Years-Years!
24-More-Inches-of-Hair-Growth! 24-More-Inches-of-Hair-Growth!
The-First-Term-Times-Two! The-First-Term-Times-Two!
Approximately-Two-Elephant-Pregnancies! Two-Elephant-Pregnancies!
48-More-Moons! 48-More-Moons!
The-First-Four-Years-Were-Half-of-a-Pie! The-Next-Four-Years-is-the-Second-Half-of-the-Pie! Let’s-Eat-the-Whole-Pie!
President Reagan was disappointed with each of these attempts to give him a catchy case for four more years, so he finally just settled on ‘Four-More-Years!’ and the rest is history.
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Why not take a break from not working and submit a caption in the caption contest?
The Good Greatsby 
Vanessa Chapman
September 6, 2012
I would have gone for ‘One-More-Year! And-Three-After-That!’ that one made me smile, and it also helps teach math.
The Good Greatsby
September 6, 2012
It would have helped secure the math demographic.
Laura
September 6, 2012
Don’t forget to stock up for your drinking game. Otherwise, you might have to run out to the store at the last minute to get four more beers.
The Good Greatsby
September 6, 2012
Nicely done.
Read Stuff With Me!
September 6, 2012
He ought to be disappointed at these suggestion…poor guy…wish you would have been there to suggest a ‘suitable’ and appreciable chant…what would it have been then? I must know 😉
Read Stuff With Me!
September 6, 2012
suggestions*
Hippie Cahier
September 6, 2012
I thought I was the only one who measured time in hair growth.
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
I always tell time in hair. When the kids ask how long it is until Christmas I say “About two inches of hair growth from now.”
palestranger
September 7, 2012
Perhaps if our curren t president crawled out of the hole, and saw his shadow that would mean six more weeks of Obama
feelingchipper
September 6, 2012
I can’t wait to hear Obama screaming “one thousand, four hundred and sixty more days!”
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
Don’t forget there’s a leap year in there.
dianasschwenk
September 6, 2012
I can’t believe he didn’t like Approximately-Two-Elephant-Pregnancies! Two-Elephant-Pregnancies! It just rolls right off your tongue! :p
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
You’d think a Republican would appreciate an elephant reference.
Carl D'Agostino
September 6, 2012
Carl is 63. Four more to 67. Four more to 71. Four more…….
aparnauteur
September 6, 2012
Two years squared! Two years squared!
There that completes the “Learn arithmetic from the president” class!
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
That might be too much math for some demographics. They might think the president is trying to make them feel dumb.
aparnauteur
September 7, 2012
You’re right! squares are not for all people!
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
Some basic addition or subtraction in a chant is fine, but once you get into square roots or algebra, you’ll start to alienate a portion of the audience.
Matt Aromando
September 6, 2012
The chant, “Four-More-Winters! Four-More-Springs! Four-More-Summers! Four-More-Falls!” has the potential to be very creepy. The crowd would just have to deliver it slowly with a monotone voice and it would be perfect for a cult.
The Good Greatsby
September 6, 2012
It’s funny you should mention that because forming my own cult has been on my list of things to do.
Michelle Gillies
September 6, 2012
I know some would be chanting “NO more years, NO more years”. (Not me of course.)
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
That’s kind of catchy as well.
monicastangledweb
September 6, 2012
Bloody brilliant. Of course, maybe the pie chant would’ve worked better if it had included what kind of pie. I’m partial to key lime pie, though maybe mud pie would’ve been more appropriate. 😉
The Good Greatsby
September 6, 2012
Now you’ve got me wanting pie.
Ahmnodt Heare
September 6, 2012
The 2012 chant should be “Ahmnodt Heare! Ahmnodt Heare! Ahmnodt Heare! Ahmnodt Heare!”
spilledinkguy
September 6, 2012
*burp*
Sorry.
I ate all the pie.
bearmancartoons
September 6, 2012
Grrr…I wanted some.
Curmudgeon-at-Large
September 6, 2012
Four more beers! Four more beers!
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
That’s what I chant every Friday night but I can never get my wife to join in.
Kim
September 6, 2012
208 More Hump Days! 208 More Hump Days!
Mark Petruska
September 9, 2012
I like your chant the best, Kim.
pegoleg
September 7, 2012
So true about the being part of a team illusion. I’m looking forward to hearing “hit him again, hit him again..harder, harder!” at tonight’s pep rally – it will be just like high school!
twissblog
September 7, 2012
I think the appropriate chant for Reagan should have been “Until you’re 77! Until you’re 77!”
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
I’m pretty sure Reagan didn’t want to emphasize that number.
Lorna's Voice
September 7, 2012
I got confused. The NFL preempted the Dems Convention coverage on Wednesday night, so I thought all the chanting was about football. So is there another game, or what? We have to get our national priorities straight…
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
That was me chanting during the football game. I was chanting “Four-More-Years!” but it was directed at the sportscaster Al Michaels who I hope will get a contract extension of at least four more years.
Dana
September 7, 2012
Maybe if they went with tiger pregnancies instead of elephant, the chant would have stuck.
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
How long do tiger pregnancies last?
Dana
September 8, 2012
Um, four years? (Wouldn’t that be convenient!)
benzeknees
September 7, 2012
If they’d used “1 more term” it would have sounded less & might have confused enough people to up the vote count!
becomingcliche
September 7, 2012
I think the hair growth would appeal to the masses. Our population contains a large percentage of baby boomers, many of whom are actually losing their hair. This quote implies a promise without actually making that promise.
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
I like the way you think. By the time they realize their hair isn’t growing any thicker, the votes will already have been counted.
kaysfairytale
September 7, 2012
One of these days I’m going to send a link to your blog to one of my slower friends and try to convince him that this is a legitimate news source.
The Good Greatsby
September 7, 2012
Are you suggesting this isn’t a legitimate news story?
kaysfairytale
September 7, 2012
*gasp* why of course not!
Ian Webster
September 7, 2012
Yes, I can understand that “one more fall” would not appeal to an incumbent president.
Mark Petruska
September 9, 2012
Seriously? Elephants are pregnant for two years? Hmm. You learn something new every day…
diannegray
September 10, 2012
Oh, hope it doesn’t end up turning into ‘former years’
likeablegirl
September 11, 2012
Dude, your hair grows kinda slow. You might want to get that looked at. 🙂
katecourysfarmhouse.com
September 12, 2012
28-Dog-Years-More! 28-Dog-Years-Years! My personal favorite! lol
HoaiPhai
September 12, 2012
I’d vote for anyone who encouraged me to chant “1461 more fruit fly lifetimes”.
In Asia they have a lot of expressions with really high numbers, like “100 year lover” (soulmate; spouse forever) and 1,000 year eggs (eggs that take 100 days to prepare but taste like they are 10,000 years past their expiration date). You’ve been in China for quite a while… what do they chant at their political rallies over there?
jumpingpolarbear
September 17, 2012
Who cares what it will lead to, as long as the chant is good :).