Media Criticism

Barack Obama and John Edwards have engaged in a debate through proxies, press releases and speeches in front of dozens at events in Iowa over 527 advertising. Edwards’ former campaign manager works for a 527 organization that supports union interests and plans on spending hundreds of thousands on advertising for Edwards in Iowa. Obama is claiming that Edwards’ weak attempt at stopping the advertising on his behalf seems to be a weakness in leadership. Edwards has countered that he does not officially support the messages of the 527 ads on his behalf.

I doubt that Barack Obama or any other presidential candidate is above reproach when it comes to 527 advertising. I also think that Edwards could have preempted these criticisms with a phone call to his former campaign manager as soon as the news got out. Neither side has a right to complain, however, as every candidate (save people like Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul) seems to support the system that allows 527 ads to exist. No candidate who supports maintaining the status quo and keeping competitive ideas down through complex legislation should complain that 527 ads are fair to one candidate.

The frustrating part of the debate over 527 ads is that they work. I know voters will say that they are sick of politicians bickering but they are influenced by these ads in the same way that they are influenced by consumer advertising. 527 organizations are led by people connected to presidential and Congressional candidates in some substantial way which means that they are familiar with the lexicon of negativity needed to run a successful advertisement. While the Internet allows everyone to see an ad designed for Iowa and New Hampshire, there is an impermanence to these 527 ads that is perfect for candidates in the 21st century. The volume of advertisements on the Web means that a 527 ad criticizing Hillary Clinton will be supplanted within a day by a counterattack with an equal measure of vitriol.

I hate speaking about 527 ads because they are symbolic of fundamental problems with corporate influence, media and American politics in one fell swoop. A campaign advertising law that closed 527 rules permanently and forced candidates to apply their name to all TV, print, radio and Internet ads would ensure transparency in our political process. The 527 issue gets down to the fundamental question of money as free speech but candidates should preempt every 527 ad to meet the free speech standard and save their behinds.