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A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....09-14-04....Presidents for Sale
Billie
Posted on 09/14/2004 5:23:14 AM PDT by Billie
A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day
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A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.
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~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dutchess, Aquamarine ~
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I found this article, "Presidents for Sale" written by Stephen Battaglio, in a recent issue of TV Guide, and thought it would be interesting to look back at some of the television ads of a few of our past Presidents. I followed a link in the article to http://www.movingimage.us , where one can view the full ads of the candidates - as opposed to the still images I posted below - for as far back as the first TV spot in 1952.
Mr. Battaglio begins with:
"'To think that an old soldier should come to this,' Dwight D. Eisenhower said while filming the first presidential campaign TV spot in 1952. But after he won, candidates have regularly called on Madison Avenue for help."
"An online exhibit from the American Museum of the Moving image called 'The Living Room Candidate' shows the wily work of all the presidents' admen. Here are some of the highlights."
Below are excerpts of Mr. Battaglio's article, citing some of the more memorable campaign ads of Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, and Bush (Senior).
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The young, handsome Massachusetts senator's commercials used documentary-style footage culled from rallies and speeches that played to his strengths as a public speaker. "John F. Kennedy's campaign was really onto the importance of television in terms of onveying personality," says David Schwartz, the museum's chief curator of film. Until Kennedy came along, commercials with politicians talking to voters looked stiff and staged.
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The ad showing a little girl plucking daisy petals in a countdown that ends with a nuclear explosion and mushroom cloud didn't even mention President Lyndon B. Johnson's opponent, Sen. Barry Goldwater. But viewers knew it meant Goldwater had no qualms about using the bomb. "Daisy Girl" became the most talked-about political ad ever made - even though Johnson only paid to run it once. When Republicans cried foul, the spot was pulled. But news shows ran it frequently. "Nobody has ever topped it," says Schwartz.
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Based on his campaign commercials, President Nixon didn't need anyone to break into the Watergate Hotel in order to get reelected. "Richard Nixon really mastered the use of television after learning his lesson in 1960," says Schwartz. Nixon's attack ads against George McGovern employed simple visuals, such as a hand wiping away toy soldiers, planes and ships to depict the candidate's proposed defense spending cuts. Another showed a hard hat looking down at pedestrians - half of whom would be welfare recipients under a McGovern plan. "They're some of the best ads I've ever seen," says CNN senior analyst and former political consultant Jeff Greenfield. "And, given how Nixon ended his career, it seems odd that the ads were accurate."
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Campaign ads are now packed with so much information that "they're like video news releases," says Deutsch. But President Reagan's reelection ad team made its point about American preparedness against the threat of Soviet nukes just by showing a bear ominously wandering through the woods (voice-over: "Isn't it smart to be as strong as the bear?"). "One of the most inventive ads ever," says Greenfield. "It never talked about what it was about. The political ad guys today are afraid of being too clever."
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The senior Bush's campaign commercial with prisoners robotically going through a revolving door referred to - but did not name - Willie Horton, a Massachusetts convict who committed serious crimes while free on a experimental state furlough program. But on the campaign trail, Bush had made Horton a poster boy for his view that Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis was soft on crime, so viewers got the message. Bush's negative ads against Dukakis were so tough - and effective - that political reporters have put campaign commercials under greater scrutiny ever since. "Every day in the New York Times, they are critiquing ads that ran the night before," says Deutsch.
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Mr. Battaglio didn't address any campaign ads after 1988, so feel free to add your own personal favorites.
Have a Terrific Tuesday - only six more to go!
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Thanks, Mixer!
1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar. 2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up. 3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit. 4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it. 5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer
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TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons
KEYWORDS: campaignads; freepers; fun; military; patriotic; surprises; veterans
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To: tame
Yes, I got it. Answering your mail is on my list of things to do this evening. Don't give up on me! LOL
101
posted on
09/14/2004 7:00:49 PM PDT
by
Mama_Bear
(Not Fonda Kerry!)
To: Mama_Bear
No problem. Just wanted to make sure it made it there :o)
102
posted on
09/14/2004 7:03:50 PM PDT
by
tame
(Are you willing to do for the truth what leftists are willing to do for a lie?)
To: Mama_Bear
"She is a little doll and a lot of fun to be around."
Oh Man ..... are you trying to soften up our Finest Friends? Don't you think you should warn them?
BTW .... by January 20th, she will be 5. She has a December 7th birthdate.
103
posted on
09/14/2004 7:09:11 PM PDT
by
JustAmy
(9-11-01 ..... We Will Not Forget!!!)
To: Mama_Bear
Speaking of which, tomorrow is going to be a Finest re-run, I'm afraid....another Play Day!! I've been so involved in helping Amy with the FR Picnic, I ran out of time and couldn't get an original post finished......but, that's okay, we can all use a "play day" every now and then, right? I have a feeling we'll be needing lots of play days for the next 6 weeks. :)
104
posted on
09/14/2004 7:51:23 PM PDT
by
Billie
To: dutchess
Oh nooooo a rerun???? Like I've never done it LOL!!! Really enjoyed your picnic thread....and RE the November 3rd thread....Hopefully the only thing we need to say is BUSH WINS.......REALLY....100%....GIVE IT UP LIBS....HERE'S THE KLEENEX....... :o) Hey, I may just say VOTE! on Tuesday's Nov. 2nd thread. :) (straight ticket Republican, of course!)
105
posted on
09/14/2004 7:59:43 PM PDT
by
Billie
To: dutchess; Aquamarine; Mama_Bear
Oh my gosh...just checked out the calendar and...if things don't change...I do Wed. November 3rd. Nightmares of 2000...should I be saving flip flop pictures....Oh My Gosh.... (just kidding...we're going to be celebrating....I feel it in my bones!....plus need lots of help from you sistahs!!!! :o) ) It should be an exciting thread to do, Dutchess! Barring a LOT of fraud at the polling places, the outcome should be the right one - if there is the remotest chance we're wrong, then we'll put a black wreath up for that day, because we WILL be mourning the country. I just don't see it happening any other way than FOUR MORE YEARS!
I agree, Aqua - dutchess is the perfect one to lead the victory dance at the Finest!
106
posted on
09/14/2004 8:10:20 PM PDT
by
Billie
To: mrsmel; The Mayor; Aeronaut; jamaly; Mo1; Gabz; GailA; dixie sass; Pippin; onedoug; dutchess; ...
Sleep well, Finest Friends. Thanks for stopping in today.
KittyMittens, special thoughts and prayers for you in this time of loss.
107
posted on
09/14/2004 8:34:00 PM PDT
by
Billie
To: Billie
(better late than never)
Good night, wonderful FReeper FRiend.
108
posted on
09/14/2004 9:20:40 PM PDT
by
Gabz
(Hurricanes and Kerry/Edwards have 2 things in common - hot air and destruction.)
To: Billie
109
posted on
09/14/2004 9:31:48 PM PDT
by
dixie sass
(Texas - South Carolina on Steroids)
To: Billie
Thank you, dear friend.
(((((Billie)))))
To: All; Finest FRiends
Hey, we're over HERE!
Come on over!
111
posted on
09/15/2004 12:35:39 AM PDT
by
Mama_Bear
(Not Fonda Kerry!)
To: All; dutchess; Aquamarine; Billie; dansangel; Pippin; FreeTheHostages; Mama_Bear
"Me too....wouldn't it be great to have a "finest gathering"!!!! Hey Aqua and Billie (dansy pippin, free and deadhead too) time to plan a DC trip in January!!!!!"I am a day late here in replying. Sounds like a great plan to me! D.C. in January!!!
112
posted on
09/15/2004 9:11:41 PM PDT
by
deadhead
(God Bless Our Troops and Veterans Bush/Cheney '04)
To: Billie; Gabz; The Mayor; Pippin
Thanks for your prayers. My daughter, her twins and I made it safely home a couple of hours ago. We were very, very lucky our homes were safe with no damage at all.
I know many people from the New Orleans area are probably complaining about being told to evacuate and then nothing much happened here. My daughter and I both feel the officials made the right call. There would have been many thousands of deaths if southeast Louisiana had received a direct hit. As it was we were all inconvenienced with massive traffic jams, lines to get gas, lines to go to the restroom and too few hotel rooms. Our bank accounts are emptier by several hundred dollars and we are weary; but, we are safe.
Once again, thank you for your prayers, and most of all Thank you God!
113
posted on
09/17/2004 3:43:02 PM PDT
by
jamaly
To: jamaly
... but, we are safe. That says it all, my FRiend, that says it all.
sleep well.
114
posted on
09/17/2004 4:26:00 PM PDT
by
Gabz
(Hurricanes and Kerry/Edwards have 2 things in common - hot air and destruction.)
To: jamaly
Thanks for your prayers. My daughter, her twins and I made it safely home a couple of hours ago. We were very, very lucky our homes were safe with no damage at all.I'm so glad to hear from you, jamaly, and that all is well where you are. Agree - way better to take the precaution and be safe than to risk the danger of what it could have been. Thank you for letting us know!
115
posted on
09/17/2004 4:41:43 PM PDT
by
Billie
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