In the political landscape, it is often emotional decisions that sway voters to one side or another. Whereas a voter is less inclined to change their fundamental values based on an appeal to logic, a savvy politician can use emotional appeals to persuade the public to change their minds, and indeed, to change their vote. The “Confessions of a Republican” ad used a perfect combination of emotion, persuasion, and style to present a cogent argument that helped persuade Republican voters to override their party’s decision and vote for Johnson.
The advertisement opens with a title screen displaying the words, “Confessions of a Republican” (“Confessions”). A respectable man (hereafter called “the narrator”) in a chair turns, opening by declaring, “I don’t feel guilty about being a Republican… I voted for Dwight Eisenhower the first time I ever voted; I voted for Nixon the last time” (“Confessions”). Then the conversation turns, as the narrator remarks, “when we come to Senator Goldwater, now it seems to me that we’re up against a very different kind of a man. This man scares me” (“Confessions”). The narrator declares that “the hardest thing for me about this whole campaign is to sort out one Goldwater statement from another” (“Confessions”). As he lights a cigarette, he comments, “President Johnson at least is talking about facts” (“Confessions”). Returning to the topic of Goldwater, the narrator observes, “When I read some of these things that Goldwater says about total victory, I get a little worried, you know? I wish I was as sure that Goldwater was against war as I am that he’s against some of these other things. I wish I could believe that he has the imagination to be able to shut his eyes and picture what this country would look like after nuclear war” (“Confessions”). The narrator takes a pause to light up and take a drag from his cigarette. “Sometimes I wish I’d been at that convention in San Francisco. I wish I’d been a delegate, I really do, because I would have fought, you know” (“Confessions”). The camera zooms in as the narrator reaches his conclusion. “I’ve thought about just not voting in this election, just staying home, but you can’t do that – because that’s saying that you don’t care who wins, and I do care. I think my party made a bad mistake in San Francisco, and I’m going to have to vote against that mistake on the third of November” (“Confessions”). A voiceover comes on, instructing voters to “Vote for President Johnson on November third. The stakes are too high for you to stay home” (“Confessions”). Throughout the political ad, emotional appeals are used to affect the viewer. To begin with, the narrator demonstrates his pride in being a Republican, a critical aspect in humanizing the speaker, and in allying the speaker with the target audience – the general Republican voter. The narrator then casts doubt in Goldwater and in his cabinet, including doubt in what Goldwater really means by his words. The narrator additionally raises his fear in a potential nuclear war, and worries that Goldwater may not have considered how the country would look after nuclear war. The narrator expressed frustration in the Republican party, and in the concept of party unity Although the use of factual claims was sparse in the ad, this played well into the goals of the piece. Rather than attempting to …show more content…
First, trust and relatability are established. The narrator is proud of being a Republican, and is easy to identify with to the generic Republican voter. Only after the trust has been built, does he raise his concerns, starting with those around Goldwater - the cabinet, who “Have strange ideas” (“Confessions”). It is intimated that Goldwater will lead the nation into a nuclear war. “I wish … [Goldwater] had the imagination to shut his eyes and imagine what this country would look like after Nuclear War” (“Confessions”). The narrator re-establishes the trust in him being a Republican, as he yearns to have been at the convention, and to have affected who was picked. He closes with, “I do care. I wish my party hadn’t made a mistake, but now I must correct the mistake” (“Confessions”). The narrator is established as a trustworthy guide, who raises doubts about the candidate the Republicans