318 Chapter 9 | Electionsrun a story about the candidate and the race. Of course, attack ads often fail because
they are too outlandish. However, some succeed in changing votes, while others force
the opposing candidate to spend time and money denying the ads’ claims.Debates Candidates often contrast their own records or positions with those of
opposing candidates or make claims designed to lower citizens’ opinions of their
opponents. Sometimes these interactions occur during a formal debate. Most
congressional campaigns involve debates in front of an audience of likely voters, a
group of reporters, or the editorial board of a local newspaper. Typically candidates
take questions from reporters or a debate moderator, although sometimes candidates
question each other or answer questions from the audience.
Presidential campaigns involve multiple debates during the primary and caucus
season. During the months before the first primaries and caucuses, each party’s
candidates gather for many single-party debates using a variety of formats. During the
general election, the Republican and Democratic nominees meet for several debates. The
number and format are negotiated by the campaigns and the Commission on Presidential
Debates, a nonpartisan organization that coordinates the debates.^33 The 2016 presidential
campaign featured three debates between the presidential nominees and one between
the vice-presidential nominees. The debates not only give candidates a chance to present
themselves to the electorate but also offer valuable free exposure. Given a relatively
uninterested electorate, candidates must figure out how to present themselves to voters
in a way that captures their attention and gains their support. Thus, during the 2016
presidential election debates Republican Donald Trump positioned himself as a successful
businessman who could manage the economy and as an agent of change in Washington—a
good fit to Trump’s status as a political outsider, a good match to voters’ concerns about the
economy, and a good way to turn his personal wealth into a campaign asset.Campaign Advertising: Getting the Word Out
One of the realities of modern American electoral campaigns is that they are, for the most
part, conducted indirectly—through social media, through news coverage of events, and
(most important) through paid campaign advertising. Candidates, party committees,
and interest groups spend more than several billion dollars during each election cycle
on campaign-related activities by all candidates for federal office. Most of that money
is spent on 30-second television spots. Campaign advertising is critical because, as we
discussed in Chapter 7, candidates cannot assume that citizens will take the time to learn
from other sources about the candidates, their qualifications, and their issue positions.What Do the Ads Involve? Campaign advertising has evolved considerably over the
last generation.^34 During the early years of television, many campaign ads consisted of
speeches by candidates or endorsements from supporters and they ran several minutes
in length. In the 1964 presidential race, Lyndon Johnson’s campaign ran a five-minute
ad titled “Confessions of a Republican” that featured an actor talking about why he
didn’t want to vote for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.^35 Johnson’s
campaign also ran a one-minute ad titled “Peace Little Girl” (nicknamed “Daisy”),
which featured a child holding a daisy and pulling its petals off as she counted them
aloud one by one. In the background, a voice provided a parallel countdown to the
detonation of a nuclear bomb. The ad ended as the television screen filled with the
image of the mushroom cloud produced by the nuclear explosion.^36 The implication
was that electing Goldwater would increase the chances of a future conflict involving
nuclear weapons. The ad remains one of the most iconic pieces of campaign advertising.Full_10_APT_64431_ch09_296-339.indd 318 16/11/18 1:44 PM