A Rhetorical Analysis Of Lyndon B Johnson's Campaign

Campaign commercials reach voters with visuals, sounds, and text. Their advertisements use emotion along with sounds and images to communicate information within 30 seconds. Negative impressions associated with a candidate can be more powerful in persuading voters then positive impressions. High-Tech Productions (2013) explains “Daisy Girl”, the first most powerful negative political advertisement, was released September 7, 1964 by Democratic Lyndon B. Johnson’s campaign during the 1964 election against Republican Gary Goldwater. Although it only aired once by Johnson’s campaign, controversy led to it appearing on network news, commentary programs, and the cover of Time September 25, 1964 (High-Tech Productions, 2013). A young girl is shown

Another controversial ad called “Convention” took place during the Vietnam War and was played by Nixon's campaign 8 days before the 1968 Presidential Election between Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey on NBC. It appeared in color as NBC led the way to a full color network in 1965 (High-Tech Productions, 2013). Discussions developed on the meaning of the clip (CBS News, 2010). It contained images of Vietnam, race riots, poverty, Humphrey smiling at the Democratic convention, and bursts of machine-gun fire (CBS News, 2010). The ad was discussed frequently in the 8 days before the election which some people feel contributed to Nixon gaining popularity and votes to win the election. George Bush used this same tactic against Michael Dukakis in 1988. He used brutal television advertising to portray Dukakis as an ineffective liberal who would endanger the country’s defense system and let convicted murderers out of prison. Bush also produced a series of strong positive ads about himself, such as "The Future" which sought to establish an identity for the two-term

Social media has revolutionized how people form political opinions and make election decisions. Social platforms like Twitter are used by candidates to broadcast messages, build excitement for the candidate, inform voters about policy, and identify voters interest to properly target audiences for both voting and donating. Social media is an important tool in promoting political change and allows access to and conversation about political debates. With more Americans using computers, smartphones, and the internet politicians are turning to social media to reach voters. The Internet is a real-time interactive medium that allows people to send and receive information. Most of what people know about politics and politicians comes from the media. Technology such as the internet has transformed campaigning by closing the gap between the candidates and the public. People use social media to voice opinions with each other and be involved in politics. Obtaining different viewpoints about a politician can change a person’s opinion. The older communication technologies have not vanished; they are just evolving. Today there are more people involved and engaged in politics because of the internet and social media. Successful candidates adapt to change and understand