Month: July 2024

If you have not been paying attention, might be time to start!? In the past 8 days:
*An assassination attempt on one of the two major presidential candiates (and former president)
*The Rep. Party convention, which included the selection of the vice presidential candidate
*The incumbent president announced he would not be seeking a second term

Still to come: Will the path to the nomination be as smooth as people say it will for Kamala Harris? This is the first time since 1968 that a major party nomination will not have been effectively decided by primaries & caucuses. Who will she select as a running mate? She has about 2 weeks to vet and consider names, a process that typically take much longer? And what can we expect from her on the campaign trail? It’s a bit late in the game to start a presidential campaign, even if the machinery is largely in place.

Bottom line: This race has suddenly become must-see TV!

In 2008 Dr. Baumgartner published research that presented a model that identified the factors that seem to be important in the selection of a vice presidential running mate. Trump’s selection of Vance (over reported finalists Marco Rubio and Tim Scott) checks several of these boxes:
*Youth (Vance is younger than Rubio)
*Military experience
*Exposure in national media (although all three have some degree of this)
*From Ohio, a competitive state that adds regional balance to the ticket

Answer: Richard Nixon (1913-1994, the 37th president). Nixon’s mother encouraged him to play piano at an early age and he went on to learn violin, clarinet, saxophone, and accordion. In 1963, his musical talent became a political asset when he performed a song he wrote on “The Jack Paar Program,” which helped to repair his image after losing the California gubernatorial election the year prior.

From: https://bit.ly/4bRS2RO

See: bit.ly/47CJaxz

Abstract: “The emergence and demise of political comedy – a form of political humor distinct from political satire – on late night television, can be understood as a commercial response to the media landscape of the time. During the “golden era” of broadcast television, three networks dominated the television landscape and crafted their content to appeal to a mass national audience. This meant avoiding overtly political programming and messaging that favored either side of the political spectrum. But by the early 2000s, the widespread penetration of cable and satellite television, and later, the advent of the Internet and television streaming services meant that content providers could no longer hope to appeal to mass audiences. Thus, they began to target their programming toward smaller, more specific audiences. In this environment, political satire could thrive. In addition, the inclinations of late night talk show hosts and particular political circumstances helped push political comedy off the late night airwaves. Political satire now rules the late night television political humor landscape and will likely do so in the future.”

See: https://bit.ly/3XYJYei
Jody C Baumgartner

*Republican National Convention: July 15-18, Milwaukee WI
*Democratic National Convention: August 19 to 22, Chicago IL
*Election Day: Nov. 5