In the 1968 Presidential Campaign voters were exposed to images from the Vietnam War courtesy of television. The Museum of Broadcast Communications website states that “Vietnam was the first "television war." The medium was in its infancy during the Korean conflict, its audience and technology still too limited to play a major role. The first "living-room war," as Michael Arlen called it, began in mid-1965, when Lyndon Johnson dispatched large numbers of U.S. combat troops, beginning what is still surely the biggest story television news has ever covered”(Vietnam on Television). American Voters were for the first time able to rely on images of the war, rather than the words of Johnson’s administration. During the January 1968 State of the Union, Lyndon Johnson stated to the American people that there was much progress in Vietnam, but with the images the people were shown nightly on the news, Johnson’s assessment was hard to believe. “Since I reported to you last January:
--Three elections have been held in Vietnam--in the midst of war and under the constant threat of violence.--A President, a Vice President, a House and Senate, and village officials have been chosen by popular, contested ballot.--The enemy has been defeated in battle after battle.--The number of South Vietnamese living in areas under Government protection tonight has grown by more than a million since January of last year” (LBJ Library and Museum Website). http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/speeches.hom/680117.asp
This State of the Union was a statement to the American people that the war was going well, even though the media and television reports were telling them a drastically different story. Ultimately the unpopular images of the war outweighed Johnson’s positive portrayed and he decided to seek peaceful alternatives and not run for another presidential term. This conflict between media images and presidential messages (or in the case of John McCain presidential hopefuls) is something fairly common. In the 2008 election John McCain has been portrayed as having positive views on the War in Iraq, when the television and media reports have been mostly negative. A CBS news report states that John McCain's upbeat view of the war in Iraq isn't shared by many Americans, according to a CBS News poll. McCain's negative ratings have risen this year, and a sizeable number of Americans believe he's painted too rosy a picture of the situation in Iraq”(CBS.Com). As with the Vietnam War, those who view the Iraq War on television have a more pessimistic view of the situation “The poll listed on the CBS website also found that two-thirds of Americans continue to believe things are going badly in Iraq, about the same number as a month ago but more negative than one year ago. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/11/opinion/polls/main2670978.shtml. Some political analyst belive that if McCain does not alter his views on the war in Iraq, he could face the same political fate as Lyndon Johnson, only time will tell
--Three elections have been held in Vietnam--in the midst of war and under the constant threat of violence.--A President, a Vice President, a House and Senate, and village officials have been chosen by popular, contested ballot.--The enemy has been defeated in battle after battle.--The number of South Vietnamese living in areas under Government protection tonight has grown by more than a million since January of last year” (LBJ Library and Museum Website). http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/speeches.hom/680117.asp
This State of the Union was a statement to the American people that the war was going well, even though the media and television reports were telling them a drastically different story. Ultimately the unpopular images of the war outweighed Johnson’s positive portrayed and he decided to seek peaceful alternatives and not run for another presidential term. This conflict between media images and presidential messages (or in the case of John McCain presidential hopefuls) is something fairly common. In the 2008 election John McCain has been portrayed as having positive views on the War in Iraq, when the television and media reports have been mostly negative. A CBS news report states that John McCain's upbeat view of the war in Iraq isn't shared by many Americans, according to a CBS News poll. McCain's negative ratings have risen this year, and a sizeable number of Americans believe he's painted too rosy a picture of the situation in Iraq”(CBS.Com). As with the Vietnam War, those who view the Iraq War on television have a more pessimistic view of the situation “The poll listed on the CBS website also found that two-thirds of Americans continue to believe things are going badly in Iraq, about the same number as a month ago but more negative than one year ago. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/11/opinion/polls/main2670978.shtml. Some political analyst belive that if McCain does not alter his views on the war in Iraq, he could face the same political fate as Lyndon Johnson, only time will tell
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