Rove: "You campaign as if America was watching TV with the sound turned down"

I'll hand it to Karl Rove on that quote. His strategery for Bush is tied to that essential component. But Rove isn't the first to exploit this.

Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber have a lengthy, but worth reading, excerpt of their new book, Banana Republicans in CounterPunch.

Take a look:

The first political-campaign firm in the United States, Campaigns Inc., was also established in California in the 1930s by the husband-and-wife team of Clem Whitaker and Leone Baxter. Whitaker and Baxter drew on the culture of nearby Hollywood as they developed techniques for "selling" candidates through the mass media. Incumbent California governor Frank Merriam hired Whitaker and Baxter to defeat a 1934 election challenge by muckraking journalist and social reformer Upton Sinclair. Whitaker and Baxter developed a smear campaign to defeat Sinclair, arranging to have false stories printed in newspapers about Sinclair seducing young girls. To combat Sinclair's Depression-era populism, they worked with Hollywood studios, which controlled movie theaters throughout the state, to place phony newsreels in cinemas featuring fictional "Sinclair supporters" in rags advocating a Soviet-style takeover.

After their victory, Whitaker and Baxter explained the cynical philosophy behind their success: "The average American doesn't want to be educated, he doesn't want to improve his mind, he doesn't even want to work consciously at being a good citizen. But every American likes to be entertained. He likes the movies, he likes mysteries; he likes fireworks and parades. So, if you can't put on a fight, put on a show." In Whitaker's words, they transformed elections from "a hit or miss business, directed by broken-down politicians" into "a mature, well-managed business founded on sound public relations principles, and using every technique of modern advertising."

Things have only gotten more sophisticated since then--if you continue with the article, you'll eventually come across a reaction to a Lesley Stahl story that aired on CBS in 1984. She juxtaposed imagery of Ronald Reagan's style over substance campaign technique with audio suggesting that he was being a bit disengenous--most of the images contradicted his actions. Surprisingly, Reagan's handlers loved the piece, and Stahl later discovered why. In airing the report for a live audience, she was shocked to discover that most viewers thought it was ENDORSING Reagan instead of questioning him.

Rampton and Stauber go into a lot more depth than I will here. They look at a number of political races over the last fifty years or so. If I was working for John Kerry, I'd read the article, buy the book and find people willing to counter the spin and lie cycle that Bush will be playing through Election Day.

Take the goves off--remember, their side is using brass knuckles anyway.