Political Ads

We are getting so close to the election!  I finally received my absentee ballot in the mail and voted.  It is pretty exciting!  As we get closer to the election I have been noticing an increase in campaign ads, for the obvious reason.  There is a great website called The Living Room Candidate and it has political campaign ads from 1952 through 2012.  It is an awesome website and you should check it out!
The Living Room Candidate

Our assignment this week is to write on an political ad.  I chose the ad from JFK's election in 1960.  The ad that I chose is a jingle for the candidate.  It is a super catchy tune, reminiscent of a television show theme song, that gets stuck in your head all day long.  After watching it a couple of times already, I feel like I know it by heart.  The imagery in this video is what I find really interesting.  It is essentially the same pictures and images repeated over and over again.  Pictures of "Kennedy's people", the people that will be voting for him.  There are shots of people of all races and all ages, painting Kennedy as an every man, a president who connects with every demographic.  The use of handmade signs is repeated throughout the ad, giving the idea that people are passionate about him and made these signs themselves in support of JFK.  There are also certain words that are repeated over and over again like "president", "vote democratic", "a time for greatness", and "leader for the 60s".  All of these words that flash across the screen with his face stick in your head, really getting a message across.  There is an emphasis that he is young, but still experienced and is a presidential candidate that cares about every citizen in every state.  The emphasis is on age is definitely a little stab at the other presidential candidate, Richard Nixon.  Nixon's team tried to say that Kennedy's young age equated inexperience, but Kennedy's team used his young age in a positive message.   It is short and sweet and to the point.  The ad has a real magazine/newspaper ad feel to it, making me think that this ad was made by a company who created ads for magazines and newspapers, especially in comparison to political ads today that are more advanced.     

Another important part to the JFK jingle ad is that you don't have to actually watch it in order to get the message.  Most of the time during commercial breaks people get up and go away from the tv.  If you were a housewife in 1960 who had the TV on during the day or a family watching it at night and you walked away while the commercial was on, but still heard it, you would still get the message.  The repetition of Kennedy's name is pounded into your head.  There is not questions about who the ad is for.  Without seeing the images, you get the message and it is catchy enough that you don't tune out.  You hear the message... that Kennedy is the right president and you should vote for him!  The use of the words "me" and "you" are also significant.  The ad is drilling into your head that I should vote for Kennedy, that he s the right candidate for ME.  The repetition of the word "me" makes the viewer feel like they are important to the campaign, that their vote counts and should be for Kennedy.  He is the people's president, the president for each individual.

It is interesting to me how these jingle ads function.  While they are catchy and upbeat, they still manage to get a few jabs.  Most political ads have a more direct assault on the competition, but jingles make this attack in a more underhanded way.  The jabs can sometimes be lost on the viewer, but if you watch them over and over again, you pick up on the underhanded comments at the opposing candidate.

A parody of the JFK ad was used for Barack Obama this campaign season.  I am pretty sure that it was not an official campaign video, but it is an interesting comparison.  There have been a lot of comparisons between JFK and Obama over the years, comparing their age, inexperience, presence and speaking ability, as well as their political beliefs.  Kennedy was a very loved president by the people of the United States and by creating this ad, it is exemplifying the comparison.

Political Fashion

I think that it is safe to say that as a people, we judge based on looks, especially by how a person is dressed.  It is in my opinion that fashion plays a huge role in politics, especially during an election.  The candidate is trying to physically portray themselves as a certain type of person in order to secure votes.  There is a great scene in the movie "The Adjustment Bureau" in which Matt Damon's character is giving a speech on authenticity after just having lost the senatorial race (link below).  He talks about how his ties are selected by a team of people who have tested and gathered data about tie colors and the colors that he wears are chosen for a specific reason.  Damon's character says that he is told to either wear a blue or red tie, not yellow because it makes it look like he is taking his situation too lightly and that a silver tie would make it appear that he has forgotten his roots.  He also discusses his shoes, saying that he has to have the right amount of scuff on his shoes, so that he doesn't alienate any social class.

For me, this scene is totally true and reflective of how politicians dress.  Their outfits are carefully selected, from the tie to the shoes that they wear, in order to reflect something in particular.  We associate certain traits with people by the close that they wear.  When I see a person wearing scrubs, I automatically assume that they are a doctor and therefore intelligent and hardworking.  The same goes for when I see someone in a business suit.  On the other hand, when you see a person who is poorly dressed, you automatically assume negative things about them.  All of these things are taken into account and carefully calculated on a campaign trail and I think Mitt Romney is the perfect example.  

When Romney first started on the campaign trail, his hair was a littler stiffer, his suits crisper.  He looked like a millionaire business man.  This was probably the perfect look for him during those first weeks, when he was competing for the official presidential nominee for the republicans.  He wanted to appeal to the rich republican, corporate types who would be donating money to his campaign.  Romney wanted support, at that time, from those people who could afford to help his campaign.  After he was officially selected as the republican nominee for president, Romney's style completely changed.  He started dressing more in clothes that would appeal to the average American.  Typically dressed in a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, sometimes in blue jeans but typically in khaki pants, Romney was presenting himself as an average American man.  What is that common expression?  Something about rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty?  His sleeves were always rolled at just the right amount of length to convey a certain image, the picture of a man who has rolled his sleeves up himself and is prepared to work hard.  Any farther and it would look to contrived.   Even the color of his ties give off a certain air.  In the first presidential debate, Romney wore a red tie.  Red is a color that is typically associated with fire, anger, strength, passion, etc.  He was a reflection of all of those adjectives in the first debate.  In the second debate he wore a blue tie, which is a color that is typically associated with being cool, calm, and composed which was a reflection of his behavior during that debate.  Obama wore the red tie in second debate and he was red that night because he was the one who came out fighting.  The colors red and blue even brings thoughts of certain parties to mind, red for republicans and blue for democrats.

It is interesting to also watch the style of their wives.  They also want to appeal to every woman in America, dressed smart, but not wearing too expensive clothes that they alienate the masses.  Typically women in politics wear suits that are mainly composed of either a skirt and top/jacket or a dress and jacket.  I feel like I rarely see them wear pants, probably in an effort to appear more feminine and subservient to their powerful political husbands.  They must look sophisticated, elegant, classy, but also matronly.  They are representing the mothers of America and must dress accordingly.  Rarely do you see the wife of a politician with a skirt too short or a top too low.  Michelle Obama is constantly discussed in the fashion world because she dresses so well.  She does a great job of combining expensive and inexpensive pieces for a great put together look.  Michelle has a wonderful fashion sense (or at least her stylist does) and she is a great role model for young women.  It is all part of the role that she plays as the wife of the President.

I thought it was interesting how both Michelle Obama and Ann Romney were wearing hot pink outfits to the second debate.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and I wonder if their camps talked to each other.  I am also curious about if the stylists for Barack and Mitt speak with each other before each debate to let the other know what tie they are wearing.  One wore a red striped tie and the other wore a blue polka-dot tie.  At the second debate, they switched with one in a blue striped and the other in a red polka-dot.  I am sure it is not a coincidence that they did this.  I wonder what sort of interpretations or messages are given off to people by stripes vs. polka-dots.      
      


http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-adjustment-bureau/authentic-speech

Damned if you do.

Our discussions in class have recently been based on trauma and memorials that are created in honor and remembrance of a traumatic event.  We discussed the symptoms of trauma and the effects that a traumatic experience have on a person, like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  I could not help but think of my own experience with a traumatic event and the role that politics played in that event.

On April 27th, 2011 I was living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and finishing up my senior year of college.  I was stressing about finals and getting excited for graduation.  We had been having bad weather the days leading up to the 27th and the weather was weird on the 27th, but strangely it was sunny out.  For 4 years of undergrad I had gotten used to the tornado sirens going off regularly, either because it was the monthly testing or as a warning of a real tornado, but no tornado had actually hit Tuscaloosa, so we never really took it seriously.  I had been hanging out with friends all day long, coming and going from my apartment and the weather channel had been all day long warning us of the tornado that was coming, but again we didn't take it seriously because we had been warned about these storms for years and one had never actually come close to touching the ground.  As it got later in the day, the weather reporters started getting really serious about the storm and were warning us that this storm was going to be really bad and to be prepared.  My friends and I threw a bunch of pillows and blankets in the bathroom and got a pizza, ready for a night of no power and bad rain.  We could no longer watch the weather channel because of the storm and I remember the wind started getting really bad and it was hailing, so we rain into the bathroom, laughing and joking around, having know idea the beast that was ripping apart my town already.  We had only been in there for maybe a minute, when I decided to go look out the windows and see what was going on outside.  I remember standing on my porch and calling to my friends that the sky was green and it was eerily still, no hail, no wind, nothing.  It was strange.  The people across the street from me, who could see over the apartment complex behind me (the direction the tornado was coming from), started screaming at us to go inside and take cover.  We ran inside and went into the bathroom, and within seconds the power was out and the pressure began to change, our ears started popping.  I started to hear this sound coming through the air-vent that sounded like a freight train and I remember repeatedly asking my friends what that sound was.  

When it quieted back down, we went outside and everything that I saw after that completely changed my life.  The town that I had lived in for 4 years, my home, was destroyed.  It had been ripped up by a tornado so fierce and strong, destroying everything in its wake.  It was so surreal, like being on a movie set or in a city destroyed by a war.  I remember calling my dad and crying, telling him over the phone that everything was gone, everything was destroyed, and he scoffed it off as me being dramatic, but when he and my brothers started watching the footage of the tornado and could see my apartment complex in the video, they realized how bad it was.  I am normally never at a loss for words, but I am still when it comes to describing what I saw that night and the weeks after the tornado.  My friends houses were gone, as if they never existed.  The places that I visited regularly were destroyed, never to be visited again.  The streets that I drove on everyday were covered in debris, with no way to travel on them except by foot.  My town was completely destroyed.  People were injured and killed, people that I knew.  It was the most traumatic event that I have ever been through, one a completely different scale than the death of my own mother.  For weeks after the event, I had flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety attacks, all of the symptoms of PTSD.  I still freak out every time it storms and things like the smell of freshly cut trees or the sound of a train passing by remind me of the tornado, making it all very real again.  I still get sick to my stomach every time I watch the video of the tornado that I am sharing on here.  You can see the roof of my apartment complex behind the shopping strip across the street from where he is filming in this video.

I honestly don't think that I can convey what the tornado did to me in this blog.  It was so traumatic and  I have times when I can talk about it without getting upset and other times I will be in tears instantly.  Right now I am able to distance myself from the event to explain it, but I don't think that it can really convey my emotions about the event.  I am including in this blog pictures that I took in the days following the tornado, so perhaps you can see what I saw.  It is really hard to explain what it is like to somebody who wasn't there.  Just try and imagine walking outside your front door and suddenly everything is leveled and you can see clear across town, see things that would normally be obstructed from view by buildings and houses, which are now gone.

But how does this all relate to politics?  The reason that I am sharing this story is because of something that happened 2 days after the tornado.  In the middle of the search and rescue for people still buried under debris, the city of Tuscaloosa had to be shut down because somebody special was coming to visit, President

Obama.  He and his wife came to Tuscaloosa to show their support and to witness the damage.  Obama said that he had "never seen devastation like this before" and that he was doing "everything we can to help these communities".  Well Mr. President, I don't think you were really helping people when you came to Tuscaloosa.  The entire city had to be SHUT DOWN so that he could have his photo op.  I understand that it is a damned if you do, damned if you don't type of situation and that after President Bush's major screw up after Hurricane Katrina, Obama probably thought it was necessary and important for him to be there.  I know that he was trying to show his support and show Americans that he cared about the natural disaster that occurred and
 the people who had been through this traumatic event.  But honestly, in my opinion,  all his visit did was shut our city down and put the search and rescue missions on hold so that he could walk around Tuscaloosa.  There could have been people saved that could still be alive today if everything had not been shut down for him.  I understand that his visit probably brought a lot of people hope, but couldn't he have waited a couple of days?  I know that there isn't really a right or wrong thing to do in this situation and he was probably doing the best thing he thought he should, which was to visit, but I just think he needed to stay out of it those first couple of days.  The people in Tuscaloosa lost EVERYTHING.  It was destroyed.  There were people buried alive under rubble, needing to be saved.  But it had to be stopped because Obama and his wife needed a photo opportunity and wanted to come shake some hands, maybe secure a couple votes with nice words for the next election.  I don't know.  It is a difficult situation and I think that he needed to come visit, but he should've given more than just 2 days for the rescue mission to happen before he caused it all to be shut down.  But that is politics.       

Obama's Debate Notes

I was sent these images in an email about the debate.  I am not sure where they came from and who made them, but I am probably right in assuming that these are not the actual debate notes from Barack Obama.  There have been many discussions of Obama and his behavior and lack of energy at the first debate in Denver.  I feel like Obama wasn't really present at the debate, that he seemed tired, distracted, and not mentally or emotionally prepared.  These two images were created by somebody in response to his behavior that we witnessed at the debates.  They are reminiscent of notes that are taken in a high school or middle school class.  "Obama's notes" start out as being present with topics to discuss, and like Obama was in real life, there is a slow decline with his attention to the debate topics.  There are doodles, little jokes, responses to things that Romney said.... they reflect somebody who is bored and just writing train of thought.  These drawings are similar to political cartoons, in that you it is really up to the viewer to interpret them how they want and they are poking fun at the political candidates.  I think that these really do make fun of not just Obama, but also the moderator Jim Lehrer, as well as Romney.  I think they are really funny!  I would be curious to see both Obama and Romney's notes from the actual debate.  I wonder if they look anything like these do!

Roll Tide. I mean...

Well it would appear Wednesday night when America thought they were watching the first 2012 Presidential  debate, that they were actually just watching a repeat of the Alabama vs. LSU BCS National Championship game.  You know the one, right?  The game in which Alabama STOMPED LSU.  The game that everybody was talking about for weeks and that evolved into a bipartisan debate among the nation.  The game in which LSU didn't even really show up to play, resulting in a final score of Alabama, 21 and LSU, 0.  I am sure y'all know which game I am talking about about because it was a huge event on tv and they replayed in on Wednesday night instead of the Presidential debate.  ROLL TIDE ROLL!  I am a huge Alabama fan, y'all.  

Just to clarify, in case anyone didn't note my sarcasm in the paragraph above, they didn't actually show the Alabama vs. LSU BCS National Championship game on Wednesday night.  All of the major networks were actually, in fact, showing the first Presidential debate between Mitt Romney and President Obama.  But I could not help but feel like I was watching the BCS-NC game with Romney as Alabama and Obama as LSU because let's be honest, Obama didn't really show up to play.  

Did anybody else think that Obama was completely off of his game?  Say what you want you silly democrats and republicans, blame it on the altitude and that Obama wasn't able to think clearly with the lack of oxygen, or that this is just how he is without being able to read a speech off of a teleprompter.  Whatever the reason and no matter what your party, we all have to admit that Obama didn't really show up for the debate last night.  Perhaps it is because he is the President of the United States and wasn't able to lock himself up in a mansion for weeks to prepare (coughRomneycough), but either way everyone is saying that Romney "won" the debate.  This idea of Romney having won the debate is exemplified in the picture to the right of a poll done by CBS News.  They asked uncommitted voters to rate which candidate cares more about their individual needs and problems.  Both candidates made a positive jump, with a 33% increase in people saying that they thought Romney cared more about their needs after watching the debate and a 16% increase saying the same for Obama.  

I think that Romney did well in the debate.  He used a lot of statistics and facts, although they may not all be 100% true, and had many specific examples of people that he has met along the campaign trail.  These examples of specific conversations he had made him seem like a charismatic candidate, one that really does care about your personal needs because he remembers the small people along the way.  Romney was well spoken and carried himself like a man who is prepared to be president.  He was attentive to Obama when Obama was speaking and persistently made eye contact with the president.  He responded to Obama's remarks and questions with specific examples of what he is going to do and how he plans on doing those things if he is elected.  Again, not all of the statements that he made were 100% correct or perhaps truthful, but to the uncommitted voters watching the debate, Romney knew what he was talking about.  How else could you explain a 33% jump in the poll above?

Obama on the other hand was again, off his game.  He just gave a poor performance.  I personally feel like he responded to Romney's questions and remarks with emotion instead of facts.  He had a tendency to harp on certain statements instead of addressing the topic at hand, which made him come across as unknowledgeable and unprepared.  Obama's story about the school teacher he met in Las Vegas seemed like a meager attempt to try and say to Romney, "Well hey, I have met people along the campaign trail too, so maybe I should mention them like you...".  Obama rarely made eye contact with Romney and had a tendency to look everywhere but at his opponent when Romney was speaking.  He just came across as somebody who was worn down and not completely prepared for the battle.  No matter the circumstances behind his poor performance, I know that his advisors will be hounding him and thoroughly preparing him for the next debate.  I can bet that Obama will come out swinging in the second presidential debate.  

     

No matter who won or lost, both candidates lied and twisted statistics and facts, made faces at comments made by the other, and repeatedly talked over the moderator.  They were both trying to one up each other and get the last word in and while this was not the dirtiest of the presidential debates, they certainly got some snide comments and jabs at each other in there.  Both Obama and Romney tried to present themselves as the best candidate while simultaneously putting the other one down.  But does it really matter?  The people who liked Obama before the debate certainly liked him after and the people who liked Romney before, definitely liked him after.  It has taken me a couple of days to really process what each candidate said and the performances of both.  I wanted to be able to write this blog without having my political affiliations sway my argument in this blog.  I think it is naive for a person to vote on a president based on what they hear in the debates because both candidates lied and facts were incorrect.  I think that it is important for people to research what the candidates are for and against, what they stand on and how voting for one candidate over the other will personally affect you.  No matter which way your state swings, it is still your right to vote and it is important to do so.  So vote.  Register, apply for an absentee ballot, whatever it is you have to do to make sure you can vote in this election.  VOTE.   

After the battle on stage Wednesday night, didn't y'all just love the gathering of the families on stage?  They just have to remind America that they are family men and that no matter what personal politics are, democrats and republicans really can be friends!

       

There are a lot of boxers out there...

The video link below was sent to me in an email today and I wanted to just share it quickly.  It is from what appears to be a Danish tv/internet broadcast that comments on social issues and the issue in this video is President Obama.  The clip shows Obama meeting with several leaders from countries all over the world and constantly using the descriptor for these countries as boxers who punch above their weight in international fairs.  It also shows him doing the same thing but saying that the countries are strong and close allies.  I am not sure if it is a coincidence that he is using the same terms repeatedly, just bad speech writing by his staff, or just really good film editing, but either way it is embarrassing.  Perhaps it is time for some new speech writers, Mr. President?