samuel.bowles.es

At the 1939 World’s Fair Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president to appear on television, no doubt completely oblivious to the extent to which this new technology would change future political contests. Sixteen years later Dwight D. Roosevelt stood before a class of West Point graduates and a camera which would broadcast his speech and said, “… you must be ruthless in a self-imposed command never to rest in the pursuit of new knowledge, in your application of it to your own duties.” These words would be the first spoken by a president who stood before the nation in full-color.

A mere five years later Kenedy would be christened by the media “The Television President”. Within thirty-two years from the first regularly scheduled television service politics had been changed forever.

This year marks a mere thirteen years since the Internet reached the mainstream and it appears to me it is already having a game-changing effect. The most amazing change I see is the way it is making available political narratives that were inaccessible before.

Take as an example this recent ad which was created and broadcast by the Clinton campaign. In my opinion it’s a very effective use of the medium. It easily evokes an emotional response and I would guess it’s the very emotions her campaign managers were seeking: fear, uncertainty, and doubt. They hope that these feelings will lead people to choose her over her “less experienced” competitor.

All of this is “old-school” television politics. Here’s where it gets interesting: Obama responds with a well-considered statement and then his supporters uncover this amazing nugget from the past. In the era of YouTube politicians are less and less able to out-live their past. What you say (or what you repeat) will be replayed by millions often with a similar emotional effect to it’s first broadcast.

Will this mean greater accountability or simply greater caution. Only time will tell.