Written Political Science Paper

It is known that election commercials/advertisements have a rich history in the United States. Some of the most famous political election ads involve TV personalities, interesting visual aids, clever musical jingles, and even cartoons. For example, Simpson cartoons have been very popular during the 2008 election campaign. Some of these advertisements also introduce how the political candidates attack their political opponents.

The first advertisement that will be discussed in this paper is an example of the above mentioned type of political election advertisement, in which one political candidate attacks his political opponent. The presidential election advertisement Obama 2012 Ad on Romney’s 47% remark – Barack Obama 201 vs. Mitt the Twitt, that can be found on YouTube, gives an opportunity to learn more about the presidential elections of 2012. The candidates were Barack Obama from the Democratic party and Mitt Romney form the Republican party. This political election advertisement represents Barack Obama re-election campaign. It is focused on Mitt Romney’s description of 47% of Americans as government-dependent victims and asking voters for their reactions to this statement. In this advertisement, there is an interview with the U.S. voters who do not support the following argument of the political candidate Mitt Romney who says: “All right, there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims”.  One of the voters says: “I actually felt sick to my stomach.” Another voter says that she is not sure that 47% of Americans are “the victims”. It has been found that the emergence of a video of the Republican candidate’s remarks at some private fundraising event has thrown his presidential campaign into disarray. The U.S. citizens have their rights to vote and have their right to express their personal opinion.

This political election advertisement proves that Americans value democracy, freedom and independence. This advertisement successfully conveys the message. The interview with the voters helps to better understand public opinion and the difference between two candidates. In addition, I should say that this political election advertisement builds respect for the Democratic Party candidate in my eyes and in the eyes of all American people.  Taking the above mentioned facts into consideration, I can say that I would vote for Barack Obama as the candidate for presidency based upon this political election advertisement because I do not trust a person who calls 47% of the U.S. citizens “the victims” only because they believe Barack Obama and support his political views. In Kathleen Hennessey’s article, Vice President Joe Biden evaluates this political election ad in his own way. He says, “but, it shouldn’t be surprising for a guy who says 47% of the American people are unwilling to take responsibility for their own lives.” He refers to Romney’s remarks disparaging those Americans who refuse to pay federal income taxes (Hennessey).

The second political election advertisement that will be discussed in this paper is Richard Nixon Campaign Song 1972 Nixon Now. This ad can be found on YouTube. The candidates who ran for presidency in the 1972 election campaign were George McGovern and Richard Nixon. Nixon’s political advertisement was focused on the announcement of his major achievements during his first term as the U.S. President. He did not want to criticize his opponent McGovern. The song Nixon Now is “an upbeat and happy song”, according to Trevor Parry-Giles. This political election advertisement is filled with different pictures that do not even have anything to do with Richard Nixon’s political program. In this ad, there are many different people, some of them are running through the rain, playing in water, and there a picture of a butterfly. None of these pictures tells anything about the presidential campaign or Nixon’s program. It is clear that Richard Nixon uses this method in order to make all Americans think that things can be “happier and better with him as President of the United States” (Parry-Giles). In addition, Nixon’s ad is very long. There many images of Richard Nixon shaking hands with the U.S. citizens and many different posters, which express people’s love for the U.S. President Nixon. It has been found that Richard Nixon “had a lot of success as President, including revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, a broad environmental program” (Parry-Giles). This presidential election advertisement allows the voters to see Nixon’s successes and proves that he is a credible political candidate for reelection. It is known that the presidential election of 1972 resulted in the reelection of Richard Nixon. This ad builds respect for the candidate in my eyes and in the eyes of the American people in general. I would vote for the candidate Nixon based upon this ad because he is shown as a man who deserves to be believed and who can help people to live a happy life.

Part 2

In some situations, political candidates and elected officials make unclear or even stupid statements. One can find a number of examples in mass media which demonstrate some inconsistencies, gaffes, and political jokes of politicians. In fact, political gaffes play an important role in campaign coverage (Amira). The term gaffes can be defined is a mistake made by a political candidate that is reported to the public. In other words, the gaffe is when a political candidate is “saying something unplanned and unwelcomed” (Chait). As the reporters of political campaigns define their job, “the gaffe is the primary form of news” (Chait). For example, during the political campaign of 2008, then candidate from the Democratic Party, now the U.S. President Barack Obama said that he had visited more states than there actually are. He said: “I’ve now been in 57 states, I think one left to go.” This is an example of inconsistency. Barack Obama said 57 states instead of 47 states. Here is a link to this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrsBKGpwi58

Another example is a political joke. During a campaign of 2008, Sen. Joe Biden took a moment to recognize a politician Chuck Graham. He said: “Stand up, Chuck, let ’em see you.” However, the Missouri State Senator Chuck Graham was in a wheelchair. Joe Biden continued: “Oh, God love you. What am I talking about? I tell you what, you’re making everybody else stand up, though.”Â  Of course, Joe Biden knew that Chuck Graham was in a wheelchair and could not stand up. I think that it was a joke specially made by Sen. Joe Biden to take the heat out of the situation.  Here is a link to this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2mzbuRgnI4

One more example of a political gaffe is Rick Perry’s debate performance in which he forgets the third executive branch department he would abolish. He said: “I will tell you: It’s three agencies of government, when I get there, that are gone: Commerce, Education and the — what’s the third one there? Let’s see. … OK. So Commerce, Education and the ”” … The third agency of government I would ”” I would do away with the Education, the … Commerce and ”” let’s see ”” I can’t. The third one, I can’t. Sorry. Oops.’” Rick Perry forgot his plan to abolish the Department of Energy. This fact proves that Rick Perry is not ready to be a political leader and make serious decisions. Here is the link to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0hC1a4-AGM