Imagine that...a candidate going 100% positive for a change! That's the most impressive part of the two TV ads released today by the Ron Paul campaign which will be running starting today in New Hampshire. The $1.1 million advertising buy is the first major use of the big money that Ron Paul has raised. The fact that the ads are so positive in nature makes them a very interesting test.
The first ad shows a parade of people from their 20s to their 50s with positive looks on their faces explaining in brief why they support Ron Paul. The first speaker, sitting on a front porch, says, "Well, I don't always agree with Ron Paul, but he's honest, and you always know where he stands." I can't remember the last time I saw a TV political ad that actually admits that not everyone agrees with the candidate right up front. That was refreshing. The ad then uses the mostly young-looking faces to list the highlights of Paul's stump speech. The last two people say, "He's the only candidate who is talking sense to the people," and "He's catching on...I'm telling ya!"
The second ad is Ron Paul himself speaking to the voters. Right out of the box, he mentions first his top two issues, emphasizing that he is the only candidate in either party who wants to get our troops out of Iraq immediately and that he wants to cut government spending. He emphasizes balancing the budget and protecting the threatened dollar. He then concludes with the line, "Once we stop wasting trillions of dollars overseas, we can cut the budget and still help people who need it." This is a very interesting signal. He's essentially saying that he's not going to try to completely undo the "social safety net" in one fell swoop. Hard core libertarians may not like it, but it's very smart politics.
Here in Virginia where I live, the TV ads currently running for candidates for the state legislature are more typical of the fare you usually find. They all go negative every time. They're constantly negative. And while they do include a few positive statements, they always find a way to go back to emphasizing the negative. This is not just a phenomenon here in Virginia. I'm sure that people across the country are as sick of all the negative ads in their local areas as I am in mine.
Among Presidential candidates, Rudy Giuliani is already famous for his negative ads against Hillary Clinton. Clinton herself went negative against President Bush in her very first TV ad. Other candidates have not yet gone negative, so I don't want to suggest that Ron Paul is the only one who hasn't. But the way Paul goes about staying positive in these ads is a refreshing change. Rather than appealing to particular constituencies (such as Clinton, Obama, Romney, and McCain are doing in their ads), Paul is simply appealing based on the broad viewpoints that resonate most with people when they finally get to hear him, regardless of their political orientation. It remains to be seen how effective this approach will be in the long run, as this will define how much of a chance Dr. Paul has in the fight for the Republican notmination. One thing is for certain: if he wanted to introduce himself in a positive light to the voters of New Hampshire, he has succeeded.
What will be interesting to watch next is how the ads will be received by his opponents' supporters. Will they go negative on him? Will he be ignored? Already, the hard core neo-con bloggers are doing their best to dig up dirt on him. But even more important will be to see if these ads give Dr. Paul a bump in the polls in New Hampshire. If they do, we could have a whole new ballgame.
©2007 Walt Thiessen, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Monday, October 29, 2007
Last modified: Monday, October 29, 2007
The views expressed in this article are those of Walt Thiessen only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Walt Thiessen is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Report violation by Walt Thiessen of Nolan Chart LLC's terms of use policy.
| More Articles By Walt Thiessen |
Reader Comments:
Posted By: Marc
Date: 2007-10-29 11:10:38
I find that Ron Paul's message is refreshing and positive as well. With the other candidates, it's just more of the same ol'e crapopile.
Posted By: Bob Dylan
Date: 2007-10-29 11:14:38
Ron Paul is the ONLY lesser of two evils who actually has a chance in the race for the White House. We the People need to seize this moment in time, and be an active cause for change. Support this man! And lets take our country back! Join local Meetup groups: http://ronpaul.meetup.com Donate to Official Website: http://www.RonPaul2008.com
Posted By: William
Date: 2007-10-29 11:58:09
People do notice because Ron Paul is not "Politics as Usual."
Posted By: KEITH
Date: 2007-10-29 12:42:30
Fabulous a job to do and a positive plan for getting it done. Here's to the peace and prosperity that has always been ours!
Posted By: kevin mc glynn
Date: 2007-10-29 12:59:44
Ron Paul is the only one person that can turn America around. It's a matter of conscience. In congress he has three bills up
HR 2117 - Health Freedom Protection Act
HR 3664 - Tax Free Tips Act of 2007
HR 3835 - American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007 (Habeas Corpus)
Have you contacted ALL of your State Reps and Senators about supporting ALL of these bills?
Posted By: NH
Date: 2007-10-29 13:00:39
Hopefully this ad will be pulled. It is horrid.
Posted By: Carlos C
Date: 2007-10-29 13:08:22
I thought the first add was very poor,.. very 80's and did not show the power behind this message. I didn't like it at all,.. for that much money I thought the production team would have come up with a more "on the edge" approach. I hope these ads get better, they are key to his election. Carlos C. (Democrat voting for Ron Paul)
Posted By: Robert Johnson
Date: 2007-10-29 13:16:13
I'm sure these commercials are going to give Ron Paul a huge boost of well needed name recognition. As the commerical say..."he's catching on.."
BTW- If you like Ron Paul's message, please join the fight by pledging to donate $100 on November 5th. You can sign up at ThisNovember5th.com. Give the site a few seconds to load as a LOT of people are hitting it right now.
Posted By: Nate
Date: 2007-10-29 13:33:31
"He then concludes with the line, "Once we stop wasting trillions of dollars overseas, we can cut the budget and still help people who need it." This is a very interesting signal. He's essentially saying that he's not going to try to completely undo the "social safety net" in one fell swoop. Hard core libertarians may not like it, but it's very smart politics."
As far as I can tell Dr. Paul has been saying this from day one. It is not politically viable to kill entitlement programs over night. Dr. Paul likes to use the phrase "tiding people over". As president, he would tide people over using the money saved on foreign policy and start weening the country off the programs. Citizens would immediately be given the choice to simply 'opt-out' of social security, etc.
Posted By: Seth
Date: 2007-10-29 14:59:44
Ron Paul seems like the kind of person that could sit at any dinner table in any home in the country and find a way to relate and contribute.We need someone like that speaking for us right now. A calm intelligent voice in the midst of chaos. He's not afraid, however, to raise his fists for the Constitution and the real "threats" to our liberty.
Posted By: Dave Lamarand
Date: 2007-10-29 15:05:37
Please join us this November 5th for the largest one day political donation event in history. Our goal is to bring together 100,000 people to donate $100 each, creating a one day donation total of $10,000,000.
Please subscribe via feedburner below to confirm your commitment to donate. Each day you'll receive an email with our total number of subscribers. In this way we will know exactly where we stand in our efforts. Our goal is 100,000 subscribers.
Please subscribe now. Please spread the word. Thank you.
http://thisnovember5th.com/
Posted By: Jake
Date: 2007-10-29 15:51:41
"Ron Paul is the ONLY lesser of two evils who actually has a chance in the race for the White House."
In my opinion, the great thing about Ron Paul is that he ISN'T a lesser of evils at all. He's actually good! He's the only one who can sell himself without trying to knock others down.
Posted By: Douglas A. Logan
Date: 2007-10-29 17:00:17
I thinks the ads are good. The ads show that as Ron Paul has said this movement is not all about him. They are showing him as he is and the revolution thats taking place is all inclusive and for every American of good consience and loves America and liberty.
Posted By: Scott Harmon
Date: 2007-10-29 19:25:09
Paul is probably one of the few candidates who can afford to be positive, since he's actually got something of substance to say. I have found the most negative campaigning to be from those who don't really offer much of a platform--or at least, anything different.
Posted By: Seth
Date: 2007-10-29 23:00:02
Both of these ads, especially the first, reveal that the campaign managers are clueless about how to sell a candidate with mass media. Heads need to roll before I contribute any more of my money to the campaign. To take Paul to the next level is going to require more sophisticated campaign leadership.
Posted By: Trans-Mutant
Date: 2007-10-30 00:18:38
The Dr. has a written prescription to cure this country and there's no reason whatsoever to be negative about that message. I tell you, what I've seen of Ron Paul in debates and handling general media is that he can be tough! see, the rightness in his messages can't be fought, only his strategies to implement can be questioned, even rebuffed by political adversaries. The trick to make it all the way is to show, as rationally as possible, how each of the milestones he proposes will be achieved.
Posted By: Walt Thiessen
Date: 2007-10-30 05:09:24
Thank you one and all for your comments. For those who think the ads were bad, I (for one) would like to know what you think the ads should show and say instead. It's one thing to criticize the work of another person. It's quite another to originate work of your own and subject it to the criticism of others.
Posted By: FLrEVOLt
Date: 2007-10-30 06:17:13
*PLEASE* GOOGLE VIDEO: "North American Union" They're not just conspiracies theories anymore!!!! RON PAUL 08'
Posted By: dddienst
Date: 2007-10-30 08:52:12
I think it is awesome that these are not the only ads that people in NH are going to see for Ron Paul. Other independant groups like OperationNH are running thier own ads for Dr Paul as well. Freedom Works. Decentralised Initiatives Achieve More. Ron Paul is awesome and it is not his fault that the other idiots in government are not bold enough to support true wisdom.
Dr. Paul reminds me of the prophits in the old testament who the other leaders would not listen to until the people repented and made them. If this Country really is one nation under God and as Patrick Henry put it
"Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come."
Posted By: dick bjornseth
Date: 2007-10-30 09:22:38
While these ads may give Paul a bump in the polls, almost ANY ad would do this for a candidate with such low name recognition. So don't credit the quality of these ads with a slightly higher poll number.Let's face it, these ads are not very good. (and I'm being kind with my words). The ads are contrived, the lines read by the "voters" sound like they are prerehearsed and delivered without much conviction.My simple recomendation: use a series of clips from Ron's speeches, debates, and/or TV interviews. Let some of the energy, spontaineity, and excitement of the campaign shine through. Add some of the great music written for his campaign.Ron Paul can do so much better than these ads. They are...what's the terms... phoney, staged, and boring. Not what we need from such an honest and straightforward candidate. And don't think we need to dumb down or tone down to the voters of New Hampshire. Let's do the opposite!
Posted By: John Foster
Date: 2007-11-01 16:54:20
The ads are terrible but the candidate is great. I guess that's better than the other way around.