Rarely does political advertising provide us enough common ground to contrast the candidates on properly. But supposing these ads are a reasonable guide to the image they wish to create and their personal motivation, I think we can generalize whether these various tacts will actually fly.
First and foremost, as entrenched as Christianity is in American society and culture, there is a reason why most of the candidates did not make a direct appeal to it. McCain suffers from the problem of telling a story which is somewhat alien to most peoples' experience, and people do not vote for someone out of sympathy. And Huckabee‘s ad, attempting to appeal to daunted voters by first relating to the swarm of political ads before moving on to his faith, probably won‘t fly because a daunted voter is more likely to not-vote than pick someone with similar values.
The appeal to family values is probably more reliable given its greater universality. A sense of empathy and affinity is necessary for people in relating to something they read or watch. The Ron Paul and Obama ads are infinitely more powerful in this regard. I would suspect that for most people the centrepiece of Christmas is time with family and reflection on the less fortunate, with faith a close second.
The Clinton and Guliani ads are relatively weak in this respect. Gift giving is something that most people can relate to, however one must concede that people often judge those they have not met by watching how they relate to others and not by what they give or promise. However, that said, the emphasis on policy in both ads does work toward establishing an agenda where a mere Merry Christmas alone does not.
Of course, in the end, being as un-American as I am, I can only guess the extent to which these various campaigns might appeal to the public in terms of demographics and turn out. But it will be interesting how things go from here. After all, the effectiveness of a campaign depends on how far a message can be spread, not just how persuasive it is.
Article comments
1 - Mayberry
Ron Paul received contributions from over 100,000 different people this quarter. He received $18,000,000 from those 100,000 people. His support is wide and deep. Look around your town and notice you see RP signs everywhere. Grab a cup of coffee and go to Free Me TV
2 - Dr Dreadful
I would suspect that for most people the centrepiece of Christmas is time with family and reflection on the less fortunate, with faith a close second.
And you'd be wrong. Just like everywhere else, the centerpiece of Christmas tends to be (1) presents (2) stuffing yourself full of food until you need a forklift to get you to bed.
3 - Silver Surfer
3) Over-consumption of prawns (shrimp??) and going to the beach/pool or trying to stay cool in an airconditioned house in the warm climes of Oz. Johnno, hope you had a good one.
It was hot out on the West Coast (40C plus) and humid as buggery in Sydney on Christmas Eve.... I bet Santa works in shorts, thongs (the essential Aussie footwear known as flip-flops in America, just in case anyone conjures up some bizarre vision of a bearded fat man in a red g-string, which is Aussie for the American 'thong') and sleeveless shirt down this neck of the woods at Chrissie. My daughter reckons he must and she's 12 so she's probably right.
Plenty to celebrate, too, with the Liberals gone. Let's hope Labor doesn't spoil the Christmas/New Year party.
4 - Jonathan Scanlan
Did indeed Surfer. Although, just like every other year, I was underwhelmed. Being the black sheep is not that great at christmas time. I swear I must be the only ungodly person in my whole family.
5 - Dave Nalle
I wonder if Mayberry found Ron Paul under his tree yesterday.
Dave
6 - Baronius
Good article, especially for the collection of links.
The Obama, Paul, and Huckabee ads all felt like corporate Christmas greetings from all of us at Hewlitt-Packard or something. Edwards and Giuliani had pretty straightforward campaign ads, not particularly Christmassy. Clinton's was a wreck: smug, alienating, and opportunistic. McCain, like Kerry, seems incapable of talking about anything but Vietnam.
I'd give the advantage to Giuliani.
7 - Jet in Columbus
A poll for who you'd vote for as President is being run on BCs Forum page. To add your voice click here