Wow. What an ad that was. The dim lighting and the blatant shots of him forcing puffs from a cigarette make it seem like it's a deleted scene from a bad Tarantino rip-off. Add that to the conflicting attitudes of the commercial - with the dark dim lighting contradicting it's rallying the troops tone. And then that smile. Oh boy, that smile. I think Jon Stewart of the Daily Show fame hits the nail on the head with the splicing of that hilariously awful smile with new music.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/jon-stewart-herman-cain-sexual-harassment_n_1069217.html
As much as the ad is chock full of mistakes, I like it. It's typical Cain, who has been all in with bad ideas and fringe appeals throughout his candidacy. Cain embraces every aspect of his personality and policies as if they're any good as any other, and is a "take it or leave it" sort of candidate. So, while I think I might just like the ad because it's one step closer to blowing up his candidacy so I don't have to see him on my T.V., if people have already bought into the idea of Cain, they're going to eat this up with a spoon.
As far as political money, it was fascinating to read how easy it is for people to drastically influence the nature of politics. Reading about how a millionaire can just as easily funnel his money into a candidate without any accountability to it is downright baffling.
Finally, it doesn't surprise me that there isn't really a method to gauge how well political endorsements from publications help a candidate. While I think the average voter may think a publication can know more about a candidate in a given election, I think that they don't put a lot of clout in those endorsements. It seems like there's a lot of suspicion of newspapers, and a political endorsement probably does more to raise the idea that they are in the pocket of politics more than anything else.
Michael,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis about endorsements. It seems like people put a lotof merit into the endorsements, but do people really vote based on the endorsements? I tend not to think so. (Especially, Newspaper endorsements!) I think celebrity endorsements carry a bit more weight with the younger voters and this is unfortunate, but I do think people reading the newspapers tend to be more informed and choose their candidate based on other things than what a newspaper says. Great analysis about Cain as well. I agree, he does have a take or leave it attitude and the commercial reflects this.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I really enjoyed reading your blog. I not only agree with the you and the things that you said, but I have to agree with the person that also commented on your blog post. I think that you guys definitely hit the nail on the head when you said that there are so many people that endorse a campaign, and different people hold different abilities to bring attention to people. Celebrities, and people that are always in the public eye obviously bring the biggest crowds, but their support should not be underestimated. I really think you did a great job on this post, keep up the good work.