I've seen the ad and liked it. But then I like wildlife films and almost never hear the message. About November 1, I expect to see an ad where one of the candidates is superimposed on a picture hugging Jeremy Jones or some other suspected serial killer and the voiceover announces the two hung out together in Georgia and Oklahoma a few years ago. Neither candidate respects the truth and this campaign has dropped to levels I haven't seen in my lifetime. It is sad to know that our nation will have as its highest office holder the person who told his “truth” more convincingly than the opposition. Let's take the winner and place him in the cell with Sadaam. Now there's a good liar.
I liked the campaign speeches in the 1790 to 1830 era. Candidates were careful not to openly disparage the opposition. They were elequent speakers. “My esteemed opponant” they would say, “is surely qualified for this job, but I happen to disagree with his idea that we can...” It was such a gentlemanly way of winning the hearts of listeners. With each administration, the talk got less educated and more openly hostile. Would that a hero would emerge and turn the trend around. Can't you just imagine Bush saying, “Mr. Kerry has served honorably in the Senate and I truly appreciate him voting with me to send our troops to Iraq. I'm sorry he has sence changed his opinion on that matter but I look forward to his support when this election is over and I am trying, over the next four years, to ...”
Over the years, I've taught a number of sales courses and I have always advocated the value of saying only kind things about the competition. To disparage the competition is to cheapen you and your product. Sometimes, we forget our own lessons. Some years ago, I said to a customer “Let me show you the best mattress on the market today,” and he said “Wow! This is the third best mattress on the market we've seen today.” I was properly humbled and remembered my lesson. With that in mind, perhaps what we need is a heckler in every political audience who is allowed to come back with a smart reply to every point the speaker makes, if that speaker becomes mean spirited. Someone like Seinfeld would do fine. I'm going to sit here and imagine some good one-liners for some of the mean ads and statements both candidates have made. When Kerry's ad came out showing Bush trying to be funny and was followed by a widow and her kids saying “My husband died looking for Weapons of mass destruction,” Sienfeld could say “You mean being funny is what killed your husband? Johnny Carson must be a mass murderer.” When Bush says “Kerry voted to weaken our defenses 240 times in the Senate,” Seinfeld could call out, “I was hoping for a President that had better things to do than stand around the Senate counting votes for years.”