Meredith found the coolest site that tracks presidential campaign commercials from 1952-2008, The Living Room Candidate. My son has a report on LBJ coming up, so we decided to watch this one:
That shit is bananas. And if you want an example of nasty, truth-telling politics, check out this commercial featuring LBJ and the KKK (trigger-warning).
Further Meredith writes,
Back to fall 1984. I was a junior at Pacific Lutheran University and my friend Kristin and I were already ardent Democrats. We waited in line for hours at the Tacoma Dome to hear Geraldine Ferraro speak. The crowds were so massive (apparently she drew a crowd of 12,000, according to an article in the Seattle PI), and I so short, that I didn’t actually get to SEE her…only hear her. I was thrilled to be able to cast my first vote for a presidential ticket with a woman for VP. How tragic that it didn’t happen again until 2008, and even though I’ve questioned much of Ferraro’s behavior in the past year, Ms. Palin, you are no Geraldine Ferraro.
Two hard-core, nerdy Young Republicans on the first floor of our small dorm began to target us for our political beliefs and declared all-out war on us. We had “KGB-approved” stickers slapped on our room doors (I’m sure my conservatish roommate was horrified!), regularly received taunts, and one day they even rigged an album cover full of flour to explode when I opened my room door in the morning. We had to get the ineffectual hall director to intervene, who called a not-very-successful mediation. I can’t even remember the boys’ names, but I will never forget what they look like. No doubt they work for the Eagle Forum or FOX News now.
Meanwhile, most states still have through early October to get registered to vote in the 2008 presidential election. Some states allow voters to register through the end of October. You can find out your state’s deadline here. If you haven’t registered to vote yet or don’t know your polling location, FIND OUT NOW.
The LBJ and KKK one was bananas! I keep half expecting to see a Klan commercial supporting McCain.
I like the Ike one. Why aren’t campaign ads today that catchy?
In the 44 years since the Daisy commercial, I don’t think anyone has ever done one as jarring and creepy (and effective!) since. Even now it still creeps me out.
Vote Johnson, or else Goldwater will fucking kill everything.
[...] via Feministing, The Living Room Candidate, a collection of television ads from Presidential Campaigns, 1952-2008. [...]
I was about the age of the little girl in the Johnson commercial when I first saw it. I even looked a bit like her. It scared me to death and made me cry.
It probably influenced my politics for life, truth be told.
[...] the Living Room Candidate site via Feministe. I expect to find a few other fun clips in upcoming days — anything to distract me from the [...]
[...] at Feministe, the had a post about a nifty site that has presidential campaign commercials dating back to 1952. Some very [...]