Rehashing the Political past

Are we seeing a new political exchange today than what happened in the past? Maybe not. Check these out:

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1952
In this TV ad by Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson, the question is asked who will be making decisions in the White House, Republican candidates Dwight D. Eisenhower or Bob Taft. Why make this ad? Some feared that Eisenhower didn't have the political experience to be president."

Present: "Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who will announce Saturday that he's running for the Democratic presidential nomination, says the brevity of his political résumé is his "greatest strength." USA Today, Feb. 9, 2007

Present: "Presidential scholars say she (Sarah Palin) appears to be the least experienced, least credentialed person to join a major-party ticket in the modern era."

"In another TV ad, a narrator reminds the 'man on the street' that while Republicans may talk about fairness, it is the Democrats who have produced programs that benefit the working class. The ad focuses on the benefits of the Social Security program. The Social Security program was a New Deal legislations that was signed into law by another former Democrat, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Why run this ad? Frankin D. Roosevelt was still a hero to most Americans. This ad reminded the public that Adlai Stevenson was a Roosevelt Democrat."

Present: "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) accused Republicans under President Bush of economic mismanagement and favoring the rich here on Monday as she outlined a Democratic campaign agenda of tax breaks and incentives designed to make the costs of health care, college and retirement more affordable for millions of Americans." Washington Post, 7/26/2007

Present: "Senator Barack Obama proposed a plan on Tuesday to provide at least $80 billion a year in tax cuts to middle-class workers, homeowners and retirees, saying if he was elected president he would “end the preferential treatment that’s built into our tax code.” NYT 9/28/2007

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1964
Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, speaking in Spanish, urges Hispanics to join the reenergized Republican Party. Why run this ad? Being the Senator from Arizona, Goldwater understood the importance of the Hispanic vote.

Present: "After showing he can win white votes in Iowa and New Hampshire, and solidifying his standing with African-American voters, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is setting out to prove Tuesday that he can win Latino votes and break Sen. Hillary Clinton’s long-standing alliance with Hispanics." Politico, 2/5/2008

Present: "Sen. John McCain said Monday the tenor of the immigration debate has hurt the way Hispanic voters view the Republican Party. Republican strategists have said McCain has to do well with Hispanic voters to win in November. When President Bush was re-elected in 2004, he received 44 percent of the Hispanic vote, but that was before the divisive political debate erupted over illegal immigration." CNNPolitics, 5/5/2008

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1968
With quick-cutting video and horrific music this ad links, without using words, Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey to the horrors of the Vietnam War and the violence in US streets. Humphrey stands smiling over the Democratic convention and then there is war dead. Why run this ad? There were problems inside and outside the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Anti-Vietnam War protesters clashed with police outside and there were disruptons inside.

Present: "Republican presidential candidate John McCain defended his belief that U.S. troops will need to stay in Iraq for decades Monday but said the unpopular war will soon end "for all intents and purposes." CNNPolitics, 2/26/2008.

Present: "Obama calls Iraq “the most important foreign-policy decision in a generation.” By the word “decision,” presumably, he means to refer at once to President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq, Congress’s decision to authorize that policy, and his own early decision to oppose any such action." Commentary Magazine, 4/2008

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1976
Independents and Democrats are jumping on republican candidate Gerald Ford's bandwagon.

Present: "John McCain's 6 percentage-point bounce in voter support spanning the Republican National Convention is largely explained by political independents shifting to him in fairly big numbers, from 40% pre-convention to 52% post-convention in Gallup Poll Daily tracking. By contrast, Democrats' support for McCain rose 5 percentage points over the GOP convention period, from 9% to 14%, while Republicans' already-high support stayed about the same." Gallup, 9/9/2008

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1984
"Reagan's policies are decidedly unfair to workers. Democratic candidate Walter Mondale's VP, Geraldine Ferraro, is featured in this ad. Ferraro was the first female on a presidential ticket. Why run this ad? Mondale wanted blue collar workers to return to the Democratic Party. Reagan had been able to gain support within this group in 1980."

The first female on a Presidential ticket? Maybe not...
"List of female United States presidential and vice-presidential candidates"

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1988
"Jimmy has good grades but is worried about paying for college. Michael Dukakis has a plan to get Jimmy to college."

Present: "Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have recently presented their plans for improving the higher education system, covering issues like the price of college tuition and tax credits." The Triangle, 6/27/08

(Video of a man laughing) "This man cannot stop laughing. He is so happy that the George Bush adminstration keeps bailing him out despite his bad business decisions. Why run this ad? Dukakis wanted to present the Republican Party as the protectors of the wealthy."

Present: "Washington can act with breathtaking urgency when the right people want something done. In this case, the people are Wall Street's titans, who are scared witless at the prospect of their historic implosion. Congress quickly agreed to enact a gargantuan bailout, with more to come, to calm the anxieties and halt the deflation of Wall Street giants. Put aside partisan bickering, no time for hearings, no need to think through the deeper implications. We haven't seen "bipartisan cooperation" like this since Washington decided to invade Iraq." The Nation, 7/30/2008

"The vice president is just a heartbeat away from being the president. Even though the office is often not a position of power, it is if something happens to the president. Bush chose Dan Quayle, a young senator from Indiana and the Democrats pounced. Why run this ad? Many were alarmed that Bush chose Quayle as his vice presidential nominee."

Present: "If John McCain wins this woman will be one 72-year-old's heartbeat away from being President of the United States." Huffington Post, 9/26/2008