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Show Any way you look at it-you lose TelevfsionadTampaigns by nature are aimed at the worst in us; they appeal to emotions rather than issues. A good example of this genre ,s the Nixon ad starring a hardhat on a skyscmper-McGovern wants to put half the country on welfare. Who would pay? You would. Perhaps only a fool would believe a commercial as blatant as this one-but it there's a sucker born every minute, that could be enough to win by a OnMcGovern's side (one of the more effective media drives) we have a veneer of discussing issues, but the real point of course, is arousing emotions. In one, Senator McGovern is talking to a group of senior citizens. The camera pans across the sea of tired, old faces as McGovern talks about the need for respecting the aged. The faces are almost enough to break Scrooge, and are akin to the looks we get from muscular dystrophy poster children. The search for gimmicks extends to all levels. Wayne Owens, who walked 700 miles through southern Utah in his bid for Utah's second Congressional seat, at least admitted openly that the treck was a way to get publicity but it was still basically a stunt. His frightened opponent Sherm Lloyd, is now reduced to telling us that we trust hinv. an odd turnabout, wick Strike, whose whole campaign was a joke from the beginning, shows Governor Rampton as an octopus engulfing the Capitol Building; Rampton shows us pictures of him working hard in the office late at night. No mention of the Kaiparowits project or the prison. Funny how problems get absorbed by media campaigns. Two years ago Attorney General Vernon Romney was urging a crackdown on rioting riot-ing University students; now, after the 26th Amendment, he takes credit for earning Utah $50 billion in Salt Flat mineral rights. Thorpe Waddingham, Romney's Democratic opponent, tries to overcome the incumbent's name advantage by burning money on his 30-second spots. The list could go on. Everyone knows, of course, that political campaigns cam-paigns are insulting and demeaning to both candidates and voters; nobody does anything about it. But candidates are so sensitive to adverse ad-verse reaction and bad publicity they will change if pressured. Laurence Burton removed his "Man to Match Our Mountains" ads two years ago when voters began laughing at them. The same can happen again. A good place to start might be the commercial showing an arm sweeping planes and tanks off a super-Risk board. As the planes are shoved aside, the announcer remarks that George McGovern, poor misguided soul, wants to strip our country's defenses bare. About as subtle as the little girl with the daisy in 1964, whose nuclear extermination also destroyed Barry Goldwater. An appeal to fear, of course, is the easiest way to win by a landslide; but ask Lyndon Johnson what good that majority did him or the country in 1968. Candidates will spend an estimated $400 million getting elected this year. Maybe next time these funds can be used in a more responsible fashion if not on elections, then maybe given to a reputable charity. Poster children are a good place to begin. |