What I Dishonestly Think

The Living Room Candidate is a history of presidental campaign commercials dating back to the beginning of television, and if you have DSL or cable, a capsule history of the last fifty years of American politics.

My favorite ad, Ronald Reagan's first commercial, campaigning for Goldwater in '64. Just Reagan, standing there, talking. He uses the phrase "do you honestly believe" about three times and debunks the "nonsense" about Goldwater being a right-wing nut so thoroughly I actually forgot for a second that Goldwater was a right-wing, anti-pinko nut who wanted to nuke 'nam.

Goldwater lost because his televison commercials were a cavalcade of people more interesting than Barry Goldwater.

A Goldwater commerical goes something like this: First Goldwater says something like "we do not choose to be ruled; we elect to be governed," thus alienating the english majors. Sometimes he'll praise NATO, reminding us that right-wingers weren't always unilateralists. Then he stands next to, and is overshadowed by Reagan, Ike Eisenhower, Random Housewife 1, Sen. Margaret Chase (picture Maggie Smith, drunk), Random Housewife 2 and, at one point, the caption "juvenile deliquency."

Other highlights:

• The 1952 "Dancin' Uncle Sam" Eisenhower cartoon spot, sounding a whole lot like the Oscar Meyer weinger jingle.
• Also from '52, Stevenson gives us the first gay-baiting negative ad in television history, "Ike & Bob."
• Viva Kennedy! or, Jackie Reading Spanish Cue Cards in an Emotionless Monotone!

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