Packaging the presidency

Now in a new Third Edition, Kathleen Hall Jamieson expands her authoritative analysis of political advertising, looking at the media campaigns of American presidents from the early days of the republic to the successful 1992 Clinton campaign. Throughout, an argument emerges that is subtle but persuasive; though often equivocal, and even downright sleazy, political advertising is vital in reminding voters of the choices at the heart of democracy.

This new edition covers such issues as the new forms of exposition created by cable television that so powerfully affected the 1992 campaign. The wide variety of venues, including MTV and the Nashville Network, coupled with almost daily appearances on morning talk shows, afforded candidates the ability to reach audiences by the millions in "news-ads" that served as free extended commercials.

Jamieson points out the success of Ross Perot's unconventional revival of the thirty-minute program spot and the increasing prevalence of "adwatchs," in which the press polices the fairness and accuracy of campaign accusations. And we see how campaign intrigue reached a new high with satellite tracking that allowed candidates to capture copies of ads as they went on the air. "We would put ads on the satellite that we weren't going to run," recalls Clinton campaign manager James Carville, "just to freak them out.

Fake spots, so they would have to put some time and money together and respond to it." Entertaining and timely, Packaging the Presidency convincingly demonstrates, the successful "packaging" of presidents is a complex, and far from automatic, process.