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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Surprising Antiwar Campaign Ad--From 1964!

As I have noted, the 1964 race for the White House was one of the hottest ever, and those who think "attack ads" are worse than ever need to at least consider the Johnson-Goldwater race. There was the infamous "Daisy" ad (suggesting Barry would blow up the world) and one we featured a few days ago, linking the GOP candidate to the KKK. Now here's another ad from that year that I was not aware of until today. It features actor Raymond Massey (best known for his portrayal of a former president named Lincoln) angrily attacking LBJ for keeping us in...Vietnam.

It opens with Massey, practically shaking with rage,  holding a picture of a "dead American boy." The body count was then exceedingly low (275) but Massey/Goldwater wanted us Out Now.  And, sounding like GOPers vs. Obama, he closes with "Vote for a Real American."  Also, go here to view the very first attack ads on the screen--produced by Hollywood saint Irving Thalberg to defeat...Upton Sinclair.

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