I’m not sure why, but I asked my father if he had seen many TV commercials for the presidential candidates yet. Here in Connecticut, other than those we see nationally from CNN, Fox and MSNBC, there have been none. It’s a different story in Florida, or so says my dad.
He began to describe some ads he’s seen. It was immediately obvious to me that I hadn’t seen them here.
It’s April and he’s already sick of the candidates’ spots… both candidates.
Why should a presidential candidate buy time on Connecticut TV stations? This state is pretty much a lock for John Kerry. On the other hand, Florida (as made clear in the last election – remember the hanging chads) is somewhat up in the air.
The ability to easily ‘zone’ your advertising buy has turned our presidential elections from a nation contest to 50 individual contests… some conceded early on. There have been nuances along this line before, but it’s only now when money can be spent with razor sharp accuracy, that picking your battles has become so effective.
Unfortunately, it leaves states like Connecticut on the short end. Certainly an incumbent who doesn’t feel he’ll win Connecticut won’t promise us anything… but neither will a challenger who already feels we’re in his back pocket.
Rumors have been swirling about the possible closing the the Groton Sub Base. Would the question have even been floated if we were in play?
It will be interesting to see how this plays out after the conventions, when the political rhetoric and fervor pick up. My suspicion is, we’ve been marginalized out of national politics.
What really, really annoys me to no end about the presidental advetisements is the amount they bash each other. As a citizen I don’t want to hear what they think is bad about the other candidate – I’m very capable of doing so myself. I want to hear what the candidate being advertised feels he can do to help the country.
It’s because of this that I’m glad we don’t have to deal with their commericals here in CT.