Political Ads and Undecided Voters

Mr. Mahe and Mr. Strother discuss campaign advertising. I thought it was interesting of Mr. Strother, who is a political consultant, to say that undecided voters sometimes decide last minute and that is why political campaigns usually run ads up to the last minute. He also says that this is because it takes people a long time to decide. He thinks that some voters “subconsciously” have somebody in mind who they want to vote for, but “consciously” they have not decided up until the last minute. This point confused me because I do not understand how you can subconsciously pick a candidate. He also said his consulting group will be running ads up until decision time.
This is interesting because it goes against what Garin's statements since
Garin said that at a certain point people stop listening to political campaign ads.
Mr. Strother’s remark sounds dangerous and irresponsible to me. I would prefer that voters have a candidate in mind and research them and their policies ahead of time. It seems a little irresponsible to me if people allow themselves to be influenced by ads.

Obama and the “Lazy” Debacle

Last weekend, President Obama was in attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Hawaii (Allen and Isenstadt). When discussing foreign investment in America, President Obama said the following, “Well, this is an issue, generally. I think it's important to remember that the United States is still the largest recipient of foreign investment in the world. And there are a lot of things that make foreign investors see the U.S. as a great opportunity — our stability, our openness, our innovative free market culture. But we've been a little bit lazy, I think, over the last couple of decades. We've kind of taken for granted — well, people will want to come here and we aren't out there hungry, selling America and trying to attract new business into America”(Farley).
Although, Obama says that American have been a LITTLE lazy in attracting new foreign investors he clearly said nothing about Americans being lazy. Aside from the remark, Obama actually complimented the United States by saying that we are still the country with the most foreign investment which is because of our great attributes as a country. However, Republican politicians have been distorting President Obama’s comment and taking it completely out of context. First, Rick Perry tried to use the sound bite to make voters believe that Obama was calling the American public lazy in general. Perry actually made a political ad in which he uses that clip, however, he distorts the context of the clip because he makes it seem like President Obama was calling Americans lazy as a whole. The ad starts with the clip of Obama saying “we've been a little bit lazy, I think, over the last couple of decades.” However, the original question is not included, so unless the viewer knew the context of the question, then the viewer is lead to believe that Obama was saying that about all Americans. In addition, the clip does not include Obama’s previous or following remarks after that particular sentence.
In his previous remarks, Obama actually complimented the United States. After the clip, Rick Perry comes on and asks if the viewer can believe that President Obama said that Americans being lazy is what is wrong with our country and called it pathetic. He said that it is time for a balanced budget and concluded the ad by saying that President Obama and his “socialist” policies are bankrupting our country. After watching the ad, the only thing that was pathetic to me was Rick Perry. Rick Perry loses all credibility because he was not being honest and twisted the context of President Obama’s remarks.
Mitt Romney also accused President Obama of calling Americans lazy. In South Carolina, Romney said the following, “Sometimes I just don't think that President Obama understands America. Now I say that because this week, or was it last week, he said that Americans are lazy. I don’t think that describes America” (Huffington Post). However as Obama’s full quote proves, he was never calling Americans lazy. He was only saying that Americans have been lazy in attracting new foreign investors. Even though, I think President Obama used the wrong choice of words I am disappointed by how the Republican politicians have distorted the context of his remarks. However, I also understand that the election is a year away and attack ads will become more commonplace on television. As Carl Forti, a Republican political consultant, said about the clip, “You will definitely see more of it. It’s definitely something campaigns will use” ( Allen and Isenstadt). I can only hope that the general public is well-informed enough to know exactly what President Obama said. I also hope that President Obama thinks about his word choices better next time.




Works Cited

Allen, Jonathan, and Alex Isenstadt. "Obama's 'lazy' Remark Catches Fire - Jonathan Allen and Alex Isenstadt - POLITICO.com." Politics, Political News - POLITICO.com. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. .

Farley, Robert. "Fact Check: Obama's 'lazy' Comment Taken out of Context." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. .

Post, Huffington. "Mitt Romney Criticizes Barack Obama's 'Lazy' APEC Remark." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. .

Committee Likely to Fail, Romney Blames the President

This past summer, the American public waited in anticipation for the Republican controlled Congress and President Obama to reach an agreement that would avert the first ever American default on our loans. A compromise was reached that allowed the United States to raise its borrowing limit and prevent a default; however, the government had to make cuts in different programs over a certain number of years. The agreement proposed “$2.4 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years ” and $900 billion immediate cuts (New York Times). As part of this agreement a bipartisan committee was established in order to reach an agreement about the best ways to reduce the deficit, however, if the members did not reach an agreement by a certain time then automatic cuts would be made in education, defense, Medicare, and transportation (New York Times).
This bipartisan committee is comprised of 12 Democrats and Republicans. There are 3 Democrat Senators and 3 Republican Senators as well as 3 Democrat House members and 3 Republican House members. The Democrat’s side includes Senator Patty Murray, Senator Max Baucus, Senator John Kerry, Representative Xavier Becerra, Representative Chris Van Hollen, and Representative James Clyburn (Cowan, Drawbaugh, Ferraro, Smith). The Republican’s side includes Senator Rob Portman, Senator Jon Kyl, Senator Patrick Toomey, Representative Jeb Hensarling, Representative Dave Camp, and Representative Fred Upton (Cowan, Drawbaugh, Ferraro, Smith). The deadline for the agreement is November 23rd by which time the agreement would be sent to Congress for a vote (Cowan, Drawbaugh, Ferraro, Smith). However, with only three days to go it is becoming more likely that an agreement will not be reached.

RJ Matson http://yubanet.com/cartoon/Super-Duper-Committee.php


It seems like the main issue that the committee cannot agree on is an increase in taxes on the wealthiest Americans. It should not come as a surprise, because much of the debt ceiling debate was structured around raising taxes on the richest Americans. During the summer President Obama kept reiterating how it was unfair that some of the richest Americans pay a lower tax percentange than the average middle class household. Patty Murray said the following on CNN, “That's the Bush tax cuts. In making sure that any kind of package includes everybody coming to the table and the wealthiest of Americans, those who earn over a million dollars every year, have to share, too. And that line in the sand, we haven't seen any Republicans willing to cross yet”(Delaney). Jon Kyl countered with, “In Washington, there are folks who won't cut a dollar unless we raise taxes .If you want to get serious about the deficit our country has to grow economically. You can't grow if you raise taxes in the middle of a recession” on NBC (Bolduan and Desjardins). It seems like both sides are not willing to budge when it comes to taxes.
Since it seems like an agreement will not be reached in time, some politicians want to stop the automatic cuts in programs that will happen if the committee does not agree on a compromise. Jon Kyl has expressed that he wants Congress to stop the automatic cuts in defense (Stein). Mitt Romney agreed that defense cuts are a bad idea and has blamed President Obama for the imminent failure. In New Hampshire Romney said the following, “It is another example of failed leadership. I call on the President of the United States to immediately introduce legislation that restores that cut to our military, we cannot put the United States’ security at jeopardy by virtue of the failure of this committee and the failure of his leadership”(Friedman). However, I do not think it is the President that is to blame here, but the members who are too partisan to reach a compromise. Senator Kyl cannot have it both ways. The automatic defense cuts should not be eliminated because the committee knew the consequences of their actions or vacillations.

Works Cited

Bolduan, Kate, and Lisa Desjardins. "Aides: 'Super Committee' Likely to Announce Failure to Reach Debt Deal - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. .

Cowan, Richard, Kevin Drawbaugh, Thomas Ferraro;, and Donna Smith. "Factbox: Deficit Super Committee's 12 Members| Reuters." Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. 07 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. .

Delaney, Arthur. "Super Committee Failure: Bush Tax Cuts Obstacle To Deal." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. .

"Federal Debt Ceiling - The New York Times." Times Topics - The New York Times. 20 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. .

Friedman, Emily. "Romney Blames Obama for Expected Failure of Super Committee." Abcnews.go.com. ABC News. Web. .

Stein, Sam. "Super Committee Member Jon Kyl Turns Eye Towards Saving Pentagon From Trigger Cuts." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. .

Televised Political Ads Part II

Michael Murphy discussed the ads he made for Bob Dole. One of the ads was to differentiate Dole from Bush and the other was a “bio” ad. Garin says that the ads were good, but by that time it was almost too late because the campaign had “taken a life of its own.”
Geoffrey Garin makes a point that I found very interesting. He said that by a certain point political tv ads do not matter as much. Garin says that when other sources, such as the news, start airing more information about the candidates, then people stop relying on political ads less. I think this is both good and bad for the candidates. It is good that people are relying on other sources, so you competition cannot influence the constituents with negative ads. However, it is also bad because at a certain point ads are not as influential so a candidate has to find other ways to make the public aware of something.

Televised Political Ads Part I

Michael Murphy, a Republican Political Consultant, and Geoffrey Garin, a Democratic Political Consultant, discuss televised campaign ads. Garin says a good ad presents an issue and a problem and the candidate as the solution to that problem. He says that the Mondale “red phone” ad is a good example of an ad that does that. Murphy adds that the information in ads has to be factual because credibility is very important.
I watched the red phone ad and it is very persuasive. The commercial makes Gary Hart sound inexperienced and not knowledgeable and puts Mondale as the right candidate because he has the experience. I think this type of ad construction that presents a problem and the candidate as the answer, is very compelling.

Rick Perry's Oops Moment

It seems like Rick Perry cannot catch a break. Last week it was allegations that he was either drunk or high during a speech in New Hampshire. Now this week the only thing anyone can talk about is the “oops” moment that has left people asking if Perry should just drop out now. During the debate Rick Perry discussed his flat tax plan and how it will balance the budget and fix regulatory problems. He added that he will eliminate only three federal agencies to do this. That is when the situation became really awkward. Rick Perry turned to Ron Paul and began naming the agencies. However he could only name the first two agencies which were the Department of Education and Department of Commerce. He tried to remember, but could not think of the third one. One of his opponents says “the EPA?” Rick Perry begins laughing saying “EPA there you go” and then says no. The moderator asks Perry if it is really the EPA and Perry says that it is not, but the EPA does “need to be rebuilt.” The moderator asks if he can not name the third one. Rick Perry begins thinking and says he would do away with Education, Commerce, but could not think of the third one still. The most famous phrase from the debate was “The third one I can’t. Sorry. Oops” Perry, who was laughing about the situation earlier, seemed really deflated and disappointed and the moderator moved on to a question about the EPA. To be clear the third department Perry wants to do away with is the Department of Energy.
What followed for Perry was damage control with visits to different television shows. One of the shows he went on was the Today show. In the interview he said that he has no problem admitting that he messed up and that he is “human like everyone else.” Perry even turned the debacle into a joke saying that there are too many departments. He said that he will not drop out of the race and will continue to debate (and did on Saturday). He also went on the Late Show with David Letterman and made fun on the whole thing by doing a “Top Ten” segment. Aside from doing damage control with the American public he also reached out to his supporters. Rick Perry and his team sent out an email to his supporters regarding the debate. In the email he once again said that he is human and pointed out the different snafus of previous presidents like the when President Obama said he had been to 57 states in his campaign (Terkel). He also asked his supporters for their own input on what agencies they would like to eliminate and asked them to include $5 for every agency on their list (Terkel). The email also had a “donate today” button so his supporters could really donate to his campaign (Terkel).
A recent Reuters/Ipsos found that Romney was in first place of the candidates with 28 percent, while Perry was fourth with only 12 percent (Felsenthal and Wroughton). After the snafu an NBC News/Wall Street Journal found that 33 percent of the Republicans polled were “less enthusiastic” about Perry (Felsenthal and Wroughton). That number is up from 24 percent the previous week (Felsenthal and Wroughton). The Reuters/Ipsos poll also found that 31 percent thought that Perry should drop out, however, 52 percent say that Perry should stay in the race (Felsenthal and Wroughton). Since Perry has been plagued by problems and has not moved from his fourth place in the polls I think Rick Perry does not have a viable chance of winning the candidacy and I do not understand why he is still in the race.
Works Cited
Felsenthal, Mark, and Lesley Wroughton. "Perry Gaffe Has Him down in Republican Race, Maybe Not Out| Reuters." Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. 13 Nov. 2011. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. .

Terkel, Amanda. "Rick Perry 'Oops' Stumble Serves As Base For His Campaign's Next Fundraising Push." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. .

Town Hall Debates and Moderators

Janet Brown discusses how a town hall style of debate is organized. This style of debates is fairly recent with the first being in 1992 and the organization of this town hall debate is very interesting. First the Gallup organization finds undecided voters from the city where the debate is being held. These people come to the debate with a couple of questions which they want to ask the candidates. Brown said that since 2000, the moderator looks at the questions to make sure that the debate covers an array of issues. However, she reiterates that it was the invited citizens who came up with the questions. While responding to a caller she also states an interesting point which is that the moderators are the only people who know the questions ahead of time, the candidates do not know what questions will be asked. I thought this was interesting because it ensures that the candidates will be educated about an array of issues since they do not know which issue will be brought up during the debates. She then goes on to speak about how the moderators are chosen and says that the moderators have to meet criteria the Commission deems to be important.