Political Campaigns and the Media
When an individual is ready to run for election, he or she, launches a political campaign. The person running a political campaign is referred to as a candidate. Before political campaigning is initiated, one must meet the requirements necessary to run for office. Political campaigns are fund raising machines seeking contributions from private individuals, private organizations, and private and publicly traded corporations. There are many campaign finance regulations that apply to the operation of a political campaign. Increasingly, in American political campaigns, money and images are good predictors of victory in elections. Political campaigns generate income from donations to run advertisements on newspapers, radio, television, and the Internet.
Political campaigns are famous for their catchy slogans and memorable television ads. Advertisements like the infamous “Daisy Girl” ad had great power in deciding the outcome of the Lyndon B. Johnson campaign in 1964 against Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. The political campaign advertisement featured the image of a little girl and suddenly, the frame transitions to footage of the detonation of a hydrogen bomb. This political campaign is among the most controversial campaign advertisements in American history but showed clear results in LBJ’s victory over Sen. Goldwater in the ’64 elections. Johnson won by a landslide. Effective political campaign related marketing tools do not have to be as expensive or complex as a television ad; they could be a simple as a single-sentence slogan. Many political scientists and historians agree with the claim that Woodrow Wilson won re-election in 1916 with the simple slogan that reflected world events “He kept us out of war.” World War I had began in Europe in 1914 and the people of the United States favored a position of unconditional neutrality in the conflict. Wilson ran on anti-war campaign; however, after re-election Wilson had taken into America into war in 1917, less than a year after his second inauguration. Political campaign slogans do not have to be about a campaign promise; often, politicians may choose a word or phrase that captures the essence of the political movement. Famously, Barack Obama ran on a simple one-word slogan, “Change” after eight years of George W. Bush.
Media appeal also plays an important role in the outcome of a candidates political campaigns. If a president looks good on television, the more likely his campaign would succeed. American Political campaigns are focused on destroying the image that the opposing candidate sought to build for him or herself. Political scientists refer to this phenomenon as “mud slinging.” Many political scientists have studied the public’s reaction to John F. Kennedy’s youthful charm in contrast to his incumbent opponent Dwight D. Eisenhower in the election of 1960. Studies showed that the public favored JFK’s youthful looks and charm over Dwight D. Eisenhower’s paternal appearance. The election of 1960 is when the importance of the media became most apparent to political campaign managers and politicians. The importance of the media in political campaigns is not a phenomenon as a old as the television age, Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a very charismatic radio voice and he made sure that he never revealed to the public that he had polio. Franklin Delano Roosevelt understood the importance of the media, the media agreed never to publish photographs of him in a wheelchair for fear of appearing weak and sickly before the American public.
Political campaigns can be very harsh and exchanges between opponents could be damaging to one’s reputation, let alone ego. However, taking shots at the opponent’s political views and image is part of achieving political victory in the quest for elected positions. Successful political campaigns depend on constantly flowing cash from donors to create an image that wins the hearts and minds of voters across the constituency. The lessons of political campaign history explain the importance of money, image, and rhetoric in political campaigns.