Tag: campaigns

The Diversionary President

Presidential campaigns are rarely things of beauty. In my course that covers the second half of American history, I show some videos of campaign ads. Some of the worst come from the LBJ campaign against Barry Goldwater in 1964. When I say “worst,” I mean in the sense of misleading. The message communicated by the Johnson team that year was that if we elected Goldwater, he would blow up the world. Literally. The most famous/infamous ad was of a little… Read more »

Campaigner-in-Chief

Speaker John Boehner says President Obama “checked out” of being president quite a while ago. Instead, he has been in full campaign mode. He’s jetting around the country on Air Force One, paid for by the taxpayers, holding one rally after another. Of course, at every stop he schedules one event he can claim is policy-oriented. This provides wonderful cover for the real purpose of his travels. Why pay for campaigning with one’s own money when one can use the… Read more »