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Hi, I'm Lefty.
And I'm Righty.
So, Righty, have you been watching any of the campaign ads on the television lately?
Yes I have, Lefty.
Have you realized that the only ones you see are in favor of Bush or Gore?
That is very true; there are ten other candidates that the majority of the U.S. hasn’t even heard of.
Yeah, people such as Buchanan from the Reform Party and Hagelin from the Natural Law Party.
There's also a Green Party candidate, Nader.
And Mack Reynolds is Socialist.
How often do you see an ad for one of them?
Yeah, and how many people ever notice their names on the ballot today?
They will all look for familiar names and Parties such as Gore and Bush.
Well we have quite a treat today.
We have a professional television observer by the name of Dr. Keegan.
He is going to help us better understand the reasons for political ads.
Let's bring him on with a warm clap.
So, could you tell us why other candidates from the minority Parties don't have as much air time as the majority Parties?
Well, the biggest reason for this lack of representation is the minority Parties have fewer funds.
Interest groups that have the money to give to the candidates
may feel like they're wasting it on a candidate who may not get voted in.
Then their voices wouldn't be heard.
So unfamiliar names, equals no money, which equals no advertisements.
That makes sense.
Is there a difference in ads that are aired during the primetime television hours and
the ones that are aired on the daytime shows?
Well yeah, there certainly is.
During the daytime soaps and such,
the ads are geared more towards women and address such concerns as the right to choose and education.
And there are more positive ads during this time period also.
Around 6 o'clock news time, there are many ads for elderly folks,
sharing opinions on social security and retirement options.
During the primetime shows, there aren't quite as many ads overall,
since the slots for commercials are much higher priced at these times.
The campaigns will generally spend elsewhere.
However, when there are ads that are for the family,
they say such things as,
"Why should we be stuck in traffic when we could be at home with our family?"
Also, many salary issues are addressed at these times.
During sporting events, in the evening,
you are more likely to see candidates' view on gun control or hunting rights, also.
Of course, they will show the issues pertaining to people who are watching television at the time.
There is a general consensus that women are the ones who watch the soap operas and the daytime talk shows.
So they will say the issues they are interested in.
And then, when the men are watching television at night, they will say the things that are concerns present for them.
What about all those negative ads out there?
How do those affect people?
Well the negativity in ads is basically
to get people thinking that the candidates could be strongly opposed to something that was very important to the viewer.
They are really just to bash on the other candidate, trying to lower their chances.
However, since both candidates do equal bashing,
it's always about the same as they would be without the negativity.
Are all these negative ads really true?
That's a good question; the same could be asked about the positive ads.
However, the American voters won't take the time to really investigate,
or they don't know where to look for the truth.
So the candidates could be totally pulling the wool over the voters' eyes, but they won't even try to find out the truth?
They simply assume it is true.
This is very true, and unfortunate.
So basically the voters are letting all these ads, both positive and negative,
manipulate their minds and decide who they will vote on,
basically on what the candidates say over air, even if it is not true?
Yes, fair conclusion.
Well we are just about out of time now.
And let's thank our guest, Dr. Keegan.
And thanks for coming to our show.
Thanks guys, see you later!