The More Things Change...

A new blogger pal of mine, Lauren, emailed me this interesting observation:

I think this whole "energized youth" vote in this election cycle has more to do with the commercialization (i.e., Paris Hilton in a campaign ad?!) of politics than it does with grassroots Internet activism. The presidential race is the ultimate "American Idol" episode in which everyone gets to be Simon.

I'd add that the sentiment could be retroactively applied to well before this current election cycle.

I was reminded of a great Bob Newhart bit from the 1960's, "Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue." In it, Newhart references "The Hidden Persuaders," Vance Packard's 1957 book on advertising and public relations.

One of Packard's contentions, which still holds true today, is that as political candidates get closer and closer together in terms of ideology (save a few issues, McCain and Obama are both running as populists) the voting public is really voting for the person as defined by their well-crafted images.

The premise of Newhart's routine (see below) was that if the science of public relations had existed during the Civil War, and there was no Abraham Lincoln, then advertising men would have had to create a "Lincoln." He then goes on to demonstrate that a phone call between Abe and his PR man would go "something like this:"

• Abe I got the note, what's the problem...you're thinking of shaving it off?
  
  
• Where's the shawl Abe...you left it in Washington? What are you wearing?...A sort of cardigan?
  
  
• Regarding the Gettysburg Address: "Abe you haven't changed the speech have you... you what, you typed it?...How many times have we told you, on the backs of envelopes....how are the envelopes holding out? You could stand another box...okay....What else...you changed four score and seven to eighty-seven?
  
  
• No...no...no, you were a rail splitter THEN an attorney...just read the bio I gave you.