Campaign Ads
I’m very annoyed with the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign. I live in the Washington D.C. region—I couldn’t be any closer to the spotlight. The campaign for the GOP is such a long haul, starting more than a year ago. Local TV stations have never missed a day since April 2011 to report on the Republican contenders. Virginia is considered a swing state in this year’s election. So the campaign ads from both the Republicans and the Democrats have gone viral on the public air. These ads are filled with negativity. To some extent, they’re eye-openers to me — in China you’d be given the death penalty for making such fierce criticism against the ruling government. Perhaps I should take the battle of campaign ads as an example of American freedom of speech.
The incessant TV campaign ads do no good for either candidate, but they do create substantial profits for the TV stations. As a viewer, I’ve become more angry than supportive. Neither Obama’s nor Romney’s proposed agenda is perfect. It bugs me that both of them have used China as a scapegoat for the high domestic unemployment rate. China is indeed the biggest provider of consumer goods for the United States but a coin has two sides. Without the government’s encouragement and the businessmen’s willingness to reduce manufacturing costs, the commercial deal with China won’t work. After all, China’s labor cost is not cheap compared to that of ten years ago. Why don’t the American politicians examine themselves what has gone wrong with their policies before pushing the faults on others? That’s so typical even in China’s leadership.
Long ago, I’ve learned the path to the White House is astronomically priced for any presidential candidate. But this year I learn the campaign ads have gone overboard, particularly in the swing states—Virginia is one of the few victims. I don’t think the voters in these states will be swung to either side after watching the same offensive ads a million times. At least too much advertising has antagonized me further about the November election. Over the weekends when I traveled to New York City and New Jersey, which don’t swing as much as Virginia, I realized how much I had missed the campaign-free TV commercials.
Alas, if I can’t get away from my the election politics, then I’ll just have to bear it for a few more months. God bless the Virginians!
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