Would a Really Honest Campaign Ad Work?

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When Tom Bradley first ran for mayor of Los Angeles, he had to contend with white voters’ real apprehension about casting a ballot for a black man.

As Seth Greenfield, a writer who worked on Bradley’s mayoral bid says, that meant addressing that fear directly in campaign ads.

“The last time I ran for mayor, I lost,” Bradley said, straight into the camera. “Maybe some of you worried that I’d favor one group over another. In the first place, I couldn’t win that way; Los Angeles has the smallest black population of any big city in America.” The rest of the commercial went on to say that he wouldn’t want to win by appealing to racial sentiments, and he offered calming words about different groups working together. But the heart of the ad was its first message: I understand your fears, and it would not serve me politically to stoke them.

Greenfield wonders what the campaign ads for the current crop of candidates would look like if the candidates directly addressed voters’ reservations about them.

His advice for the since-withdrawn Edwards: “All three of the Democrats have similar policies, but you need a candidate that can win the south and border states.”

For Clinton, have Charlie Rangel discuss how bloody Washington politics can be. “Politics is a contact sport—maybe it shouldn’t be, but it is And if we Democrats want to do the things this country needs, we damn well better pick a candidate who gives as good as she gets—and more.”

Obama’s campaign should opt for high-ranking elected officials in states that went for Bush talk about Obama’s ability to bridge the partisan divide. His words for Missouri Senator Claire McKaskill: “If Al Gore had won any of our states in 2000, there never would have been a Bush presidency. Instead, Democrats lost the last two presidential elections because our candidates couldn’t compete in our states, and too many others. Any Democrat can win in your deep blue state. But to win the White House, we need someone who can win our states, too. We believe that candidate is Barack Obama.”

Do you think this would this work?

G.D.

G.D.

Gene "G.D." Demby is the founder and editor of PostBourgie. In his day job, he blogs and reports on race and ethnicity for NPR's Code Switch team.
G.D.

Latest posts by G.D. (see all)

  • LH

    I think it would succeed in prying votes from some people who would otherwise not have cast them for Edwards, Clinton or Obama. But if by “work” you mean any of these three carrying enough so-called red states to win the White House, I don’t believe so.

    Honesty works with people who are rational, most times anyway. With those who aren’t being rational, e.g. hard core racists, a message like Bradley’s wouldn’t get through.

  • NDH, Esq.

    It sure would work for me. I’ve always joked that if I ever ran for office, I’d run the honesty campaign. On some: Look, I’m a black woman. My family is dysfunctional. I made so and so mistakes in the past and there are probably pictures out there to prove it. I don’t have all the answers and I won’t be able to fix everything during my short term. But I’m pissed off like all of you at the state of things and I am going to do my best to fix this.

    To me, that would lock down the vote.

    People CLAIM they want honesty in politics. Parts of me feels they really don’t. They want to be lied to then expect human beings to live up to the lies. FAIL.

  • ari

    I’m sorry to bug you guys, but is there a way to reach you? Or, let me put this another way, if you want to be reached, get in touch with me at my work e-mail. Which is easy to find. So easy to find, that I won’t say more in order to avoid spam-baiting.

  • ari

    Also, if you don’t want contact off the site, that’s cool. Obviously. I’m not trying to trangress any boundaries. Or something. Whatever.

  • Ari,

    Just sent you an e-mail.

  • ari

    Nope. Or I didn’t get it. There are two Ari Kelmans where I work (believe it or not). So, try this: a+my last name@institution where I work. No middle initial between the a and my last name, in other words.

  • ari

    Oh, I got it. Sorry. I just checked that account, which, of course, you have. Duh.

  • Troy

    I keep hearing that this particular election cycle has gotten more people interested in politics than any in recent memory. When that level of interest is present then that can mean that people are searching and yearning for someone to tell them the truth. So I think this time it would work. Hell, if we really have faith in people then it should always work. If we really are telling then the truth that is.

  • LH

    I think people are yearning and searching for someone to tell them things will be okay–whatever that means to them. As for the truth, what is it?

    *cues “X-Files” theme*

  • Troy

    I get it. Truth can be subjective, yes. However part of that truth can be that everything will be okay if the citizenry gets involved in the polical process and start holding politicians acountable for the things they do. At least that’s what I think.

  • Troy:

    It’s possible that the greater involvement has more to do with other things —- more young voters to mobilize in the first place, a telegenic candidate in Obama who young people in particular like — than anything involving ‘truth’.

    I’m also curious as to whether the campaigns are throwing around more money for grassroots volunteering since they’ve been raising such osbcene amounts of it.

  • Troy

    Well the question posed was whether or not an honest appeal to voters would work in this election. I conceed that interest in this election probably has its roots in reasons more complex than a mere search for “truth”. However, I do believe that after 16 years of divisive, partisan, politics and the last 8 yrs of ineptitude and mismanagement of pretty much every aspect of the political realm by the Bush Admin, people are looking for someone to be “real” with them. People are looking for someone to provide the leasdership to address real issues that affect us.

    So yes, the current interest can be gauged as simply people being intranced by Obama’s charisma or the prospect of having the first woman Prez, or just some people being determined not to see the Republicans control the White House.

  • LH

    Troy, were you being tongue in cheek? Or are you saying that “people” believe that by getting involved in the political process, everything will be okay? I’m tempted to agree with that idea in theory, but in practice I could never.

    What would be required to hold politicians’ feet to the fire, a truly informed electorate and constituency, is a pipe dream.

    As to the real issues you spoke of, I don’t think most people who say they want change have the mental discipline or werewithall to understand what government schemes affects them, how and why.

  • Troy

    LH:

    I don’t know about all that. I can understand where the cynicism comes from. Lord knows most people aren’t involved in the process. However, I tend to believe it’s because of a dearth of leadership and not people being somehow incapable of learning about the political process and how it can benefit them.