Monday, September 27, 2004
Lecturer: E.F van de Bilt
"Media & Money in the American Presidential Election", a lecture by Darrell West, Professor of Political Science, Brown University.
(Read his bio here; check out his website here.)
. The First One-Billion-Dollars Election. For the first time ever, the amounts spent on the campaign trail will surpass the one billion dollar mark. Half of it is earmarked for TV ads.
. On Code-Words. "2004 is a great code-word election. Code-words are very important communication tools. Emotions and symbols do matter."
. A Forecast. "It will be a close election, very polarised. I think GWB wins narrowly, although I will not vote for him."
. About the Economy. "It's growing nicely (4%/5% GDP growth); however, the Iraq war is dividing the electorate."
. On Leadership. "There is a strong desire for leadership; 911 had a galvanizing impact. Bush is seen as strong and principled, and his campaign has been successfull at depicting Kerry as a flip-flopper. The Bush campaign attacked early, and early views matter."
. On John Kerry. "He is an intellectual who reads widely. But he is the ambivalent-personality type, and he is torn by the complexity of events. He is having a difficult time convincing women to vote for him."
. On Bush's Constituency. "The home-owners (68% of Americans), the stock-owners, and the religious right."
. On the United Nations. "Multilateralism means going back to the UN. But Americans basically hate the UN."
. On the new media (Internet blogs.) "They are not always accountable, but they are a net addition to democracy in the media."
