Some things don’t change. In a political season where campaign attack ads have been plentiful—on issues from war to national debt—some would think the 2012 election could shape up to be one of the nastiest elections in modern history. But a quick browse through the collection of videos at The Living Room Candidate will prove otherwise.
Take this campaign ad from Pres. Dwight Eisenhower, titled “Never Had It So Good.” A Republican calling out Democrats over high taxes and rising debt? Sounds like 2012 more than 1952.
The Living Room Candidate, operated by the Museum of the Moving Image, is more relevant than ever with the 2012 election building steam.
The Internet museum provides a glimpse into campaigns of the past and—more than anything—shows that the campaigns and issues of today aren’t very different than they were a half century ago.
The website features more than 300 campaign ads from every presidential election since 1952, the year an advertisement executive convinced Eisenhower that he could reach more voters on television than anywhere else.
Of course, it wasn’t always welcomed, as noted in the sites introduction. The opposition was perhaps best summarized by Adlai Stevenson, who said, “The idea that you can merchandise candidates for high office like breakfast cereal is the ultimate indignity to the democratic process.”
Browsing the selection of videos you can see some similarities between past and present, mostly when it comes to issues and the methods.
In 2011, Rick Perry’s campaign decided to bank its political survival on going after religious voters; in 1960, then-Sen. John F. Kennedy had to address his Catholic faith and ally fears that it would come to control his presidency. Perhaps one was handled better than the other.
In 1984, Pres. Ronald Reagan made the case that progress had been made in his first term and the only way to continue it was a vote for him; In 2011, Pres. Barack Obama is doing the same.
In 1988, Gov. Micheal Dukakis flooded the airwaves about his skills as a leader; in 2011, another former Massachusetts governor touted his leadership skills, all be it within another party. Heck, they even shared a similar soundtrack.
Some things just don’t change and this interesting Internet museum shows that.