The Last Hurrah

In the Kennedy jingle advertisement that promoted JFK to be the next President of the United States, there were many persuasive and propaganda techniques used. Some of the techniques and tools include: logos, ethos, pathos, and propaganda tactics.

America’s history of Presidents has been a long and grand one. With many close races, campaigns have been a crucial part of gaining votes. However the campaigns today are completely different compared to those before those before the nineteenth century. The ideals behind each voter differed greatly and the way each party gathered votes may have been considered strange today. Compared to the days where direct appeals were looked down upon, the American society has adapted itself with the advancement media and technology has made such appeals a common thing. Political parties have had to adapt to these

In the following documentary, “Last Man Standing: Politics Texas Style” this film is taken place from a behind-the-scenes point of view that shows a very closely fought race in the Texas, There was an ongoing race for the House District 45. Not only did you see the ongoing race but also got to witness the governor’s race, which is Tony Sanchez against Governor Rick Perry. Also another witness Ron Kirk running for senate in Texas against John Cornyn. Overall numerous comments are proclaimed by local and nation figures in the documentary about discussion’s on politics, which really had a very intuitive background to an in depth side from running campaigns to strategies that some candidates used to attract voter to vote for them. In the documentary it primarily focused on two specific candidates running for The House District 45. First, you had Rick Green, a thirty-one year old incumbent Republican Legislator and a conservative leader that is running for reelection as House District 45. He had served two terms during the republican holder generation. Most people notice right from the beginning that he is well more experience candidate for the election, thus making people more openly trust him that he can manage the position of in which he is running for. This not only makes him more experienced through the people’s perspective but also through his campaign style and debate appearances. Another appealing interest that people see is that he is a Christian which people pick up

Having certain well-known organizations will increase the likelihood of becoming president. An example of this was the 1984 election between Republican candidate Ronald Reagan and Democrat Walter Mondale. Buttons were created by minorities and certain organizations stating things such as, “Asian Americans for Mondale”.(Document A)The method of endorsements would cost $300,000 and will give voters an idea of your beliefs. Coat-tailing and attacking the other candidate are usually the counterproductive method of endorsements. During the year of 1992, Bill Clinton created an advertisement where statements such as, “Bush increased the tax rate by 56 percent...” were said. (Document

“The Candidate” is a prime example to the inside of a campaign and the inside of an election. Elections do not only include the candidate themselves but the campaign manager, the supporters, the nominee’s family and the media crew. During “The Candidate” democratic nominee John McKay uses many strategies in order to “not” win his election for senator of California. Going into this campaign McKay was in hopes that he would not win the election, as time passed his view of the election changed as did his strategies.

     When candidates develop a plan of attack for campaign advertising, they tend to aim for at least four types of commercials. One form or type of commercial is those which play on the fears of countrymen. Fear

Crockett wanted campaigners to make the voters feel like they were cared about by the campaigner. Also, Crockett stated that the campaigner should always make promises to the people and make long, patriotic speeches that would only get the crowd excited (Doc.H). Such campaigning ideas created the thought that the campaigner should connect with the voters, and sometimes throw in fake promises just to get a few extra

Candidates campaign to gain voters on their side by using the internet, TV, radio and they also post signs to persuade the public to their side.

It is important that a candidate becomes well known in the area they are hoping to represent and to this end they will often undertake a great deal of publicity work, such as leafleting houses, displaying posters, and canvassing door-to-door for votes. Publicity costs money and so the more wealthy parties will have an advantage. In addition, during a general election you will often see party political broadcasts for the main parties outlining their policies. This is because they can afford publicity campaigns that include film-making.

How advertisements were used on the radio was shown on the “Hour of Smiles” show with Bert Healey in the play Annie; the Boylan sisters helped to advertise Oxydent toothpaste (Annie). The radio produced many effects in the typical American lifestyle; it brought families together and even “knitted the nation together” (Bailey 761). “The music of famous artists and symphony orchestras was beamed into countless homes – through the radio” (Bailey 762). The play Annie expresses that one of these homes included an all girls orphanage; jazz music was beamed into the orphanage thanks to their radio (Annie).

Obama portrayed himself as the candidate of change. His slogan was “Change we can believe in”. His Republican opponent was Sen. John McCain. To make sure that his campaigns and speeches would help him win the election, Obama began fundraising and broke previous records for presidential primary and general campaigns. The campaign avoided using public campaign funds, and raised all of its money privately. They had raised more than $650 million itself. (H.Cooper) He also had television advertisements that ran in 18 states including traditionally Republican states such as Alaska and North Carolina. (J.Harwood) His campaign spent $27 million on advertisements against McCain and Republican National Committee’s combined a total of $24.6 million. (J.Rutenberg)

In campaigning, media coverage plays a large role for candidates. They use the media to make their name heard and image seen. “Nearly everything a candidate does is geared toward the media, especially television” (Stuckey, 1999, p. 99) Candidates make appearances on talk shows,

In the movie “The Candidate” I thought that the film was very interesting to me, being a person that has never been interested in politics. I found it interesting even though I am not for sure if this is the way that campaigns are run now. I thought it was nice to see how some candidates may be chosen, especially in this film because he was not expected to win the election. He was not even interested in politics although his father was once governor. The film showed how the campaign was ran and managed by his advisors. Although not expected to win the election, he somehow

“Twenty-first-century election campaigns are structure to garner the most favorable media exposure reaching the largest number of prospective supporters, with the greatest degree of candidate control over the message”. (Dunaway & Graber 2009. Pg. 315) Media in regards to political advertising is much more narrower. Some candidates are primarily interested in voters who preference the outcome of the race instead of the process of the election. A great example is President Obama in 2008, had little interest in any media markets in California because he expected to win by a comfortable

Reform agendas presented by the candidates result in vibrant democratic politics, which requires the conscious participation of citizens. It provides a chance for citizens to engage in political activity with others. Political campaigns enable the citizens to contribute to the nomination process thus choosing the best candidate in their party. American politics involves candidates who mostly make unambiguous statements thus conveying their message to the citizens effectively. This means that the citizens have a solid basis on which to make decisions during the nominations and the elections. Distortions in communication due to misstatements are reduced by the accuracy and lack of ambiguity in information communicated the candidates (Schmidt, Shelley, & Bardes, 2009). The campaigns are effective since they result in the election of candidate with the most promising policies and reforms. The focus of the campaigns is national and social issues, which results in election and nomination of candidates that are nationalistic and with ideologies that are acceptable by most of the citizens.