Sometimes,
campaign ads aim more to align their protagonist with the mood of the times
than with a particular issue or position on it. These more vague thematic pieces
can nevertheless be hugely successful if they capture the essence of the moment.
One such success is from Democrat John Kennedy in 1960, part of his general
election effort, otherwise undefined, to ‘get this country moving again’.
An even more impressive effort is from Democrat Jimmy Carter in his unheralded
nominating campaign of 1976, to position himself in the aftermath of the Watergate
crisis as the candidate ‘as good and true as the American people’.
