Blog Post #15

Blog Post#15

 

Windsurfing ad helps sink John Kerry

 

WHAT: “Windsurfing”

WHEN: 2004

 WHO: President George W. Bush (R) vs. Sen. John Kerry (D) of Massachusetts

 

 BACKGROUND: As with McGovern, Senator Kerry’s opponent – this time, the Bush campaign itself, rather than a third-party – sought to portray Kerry as a politician prone to changing positions. The image that Kerry hoped would burnish his credentials as an athletic, adventuresome sporting enthusiast was instead used to portray him as a “flip-flopper,” a label that stuck through his loss to President Bush.

 Analysis

When election time comes, politicians usually find the way to come out with advertisements that usually portray the flaws of their opponent. For example, Bush campaign against Senator Kerry. According to Kant’s categorical imperative: Don’t deceive a trusting audience with manipulated reality and don’t offend an unsuspecting audience with your gritty reality. Politicians should actually focus on gaining votes through detailed and specific economic, political and social campaign plans that will actually compromise with its nation. Another example, will be Obama v. Romney political campaigns. Both Obama and Romney need to put aside their rival attitudes and focus on their presidential campaign weaknesses. Obama needs to come out with a more specific, clear and detailed action plan about what he is planning to do in order to promote economic growth. On the other side, Romney needs to focus strictly on changing his attitude because that has caused him a negative image among Americans. There should be stopping point because money, time and credibility is wasted with this type of advertisement that’s only goal is to swing votes instead of looking for solutions for a better country stability.