I just watched this new campaign video of Rudy Giuliani, a prominent United States Republican presidential candidate, and couldn’t be more appalled. The video begins with images of large groups of shouting Middle Easterners with a narrator warning viewers that the United States faces an “enemy without borders”. The video includes images of Islamic rallies, Osama bin Laden, car bombings, etc. The ad touts that, in a world where leaders such as Bhutto are assassinated,”democracy attacked” and that the Unites States “needs a leader who’s ready”, but uhm..ready to do what?
This ad is a perfect example of negative campaigning, trying to win an advantage by referring to negative aspects rather than emphasizing one’s own positive attributes or preferred policies. For me, the video looks like a bad taste, worst horror movie trailer ever. No offense, but I personally think that scare tactics won’t bring any good to the campaign. “The next crisis is a moment away!” sounds like a very serious threat, and people are growing tired of such negative appeals. So why not focusing on the solutions he has to offer rather than the problems we know exist? People know the ‘whats’ tell them the ‘hows’. There are other layers of the message in Rudy’s other ads, of course, but people are judgmental. When they find a loophole, they usually don’t bother to see the other side of the story.
I am not a big fan of politics, but the upcoming US presidential election is just too interesting, isn’t it? I just wish everyone worldwide could actually vote, because we all know that the whole world will be affected by this election. May the best man (or woman) wins.
FarrahAlmira 