by Chris Graff Bernie Sanders’ closing television ad for Iowa is probably the best political ad I have ever seen. Superbly edited to Simon and Garfunkel’s song “America,” the ad brilliantly captures the difference of Bernie’s campaign. While all of the other political ads are mired in gotcha attacks and takedowns, “America” speaks positively and evocatively about the power of people to change the course of our history. The images are straight out of Norman Rockwell’s America: A farmhouse, small towns, farmers tossing hay bales, parents with their children, young people at work.
No words are spoken; the images change in concert with the strumming of the guitar. Sanders is shown on the campaign trail, with the images growing from small groups to rallies that have attracted thousands. The roars of the crowds fit perfectly with the music. At one point Sanders, at a podium, is gesturing in a way that makes it appear as if he is conducting the roars.
And then comes an explosion of digital photos of thousands and thousands of Bernie supporters, as the lyrics tell us
“They've all come
To look for America,
All come to look for America,
All come to look for America.”
The ad is not unlike Bernie’s closing ad in the 1990 race for the US House. US Representative Peter Smith, R-VT, had unleashed a 30-second ad that was highly negative and basically accused Sanders of being un-American. It said Sanders was “physically nauseated” by President Kennedy’s inaugural and it sought to tie Sanders to Fidel Castro.
Sanders was under pressure to go negative against Smith. Instead his final ad of that campaign showed Bernie looking directly into the camera. He talked about the challenges facing the country and ended by saying, “I’ve run a positive and honest campaign. And that’s the way I’ll represent you in Washington.”
He won.
I think Bernie’s “America” ad – with its optimism and its hopefulness – is part of the reason so many of us pundits were so wrong about the Sanders’ campaign. Last summer, when Bernie announced his candidacy, so many of us who know him well focused on the angry Bernie. We wondered how far anger could carry a presidential campaign, even in times when the public is so angry with politicians.
But Bernie has managed to become the candidate of hope, the position that Barack Obama had in 2008. His campaign is more than a battle against the billionaires. It has become a movement. A people-powered revolution. Unlike Donald Trump, who is all about anger and negativity and put downs, Bernie has become a vehicle of optimism.
His “America” ad stands in stark contrast to Hillary Clinton’s closing Iowa ad, which focused on Clinton’s credentials and is aimed very specifically at sending the message that she is the only candidate who can defeat the Republicans. The ad shows Trump shouting at one of his campaign rallies and Ted Cruz aiming an assault weapon at a shooting range.
Bernie’s campaign has been flawless. Every step of the way he and his campaign have shown a mastery of messaging that is far more sophisticated than anyone ever expected could come from an underdog campaign that started late.
Back in 1986, as Bernie Sanders campaigned for governor, he sat down with a reporter from The Associated Press, John Donnelly, in a Barre restaurant. He talked about growing up in his working class family in Brooklyn and constant fights about money.
“Money was an issue of pre-eminent importance in my family,” he said. “It caused a lot of bickering between my mother and my father.”
Then he talked about his reasons for getting into politics.
“If you ask me what my dream is as a political person, it is to allow this state to do what no other state in the union has done: to stand up to the establishment, the big-monied people, to the Democrats and Republicans and show the rest of the country it can be done.
“If that happens, my life’s work will have been successful.”
Thirty years later and there is no doubt: Sanders’ life work has been successful by his definition. He has stood up to the establishment and he has shown the country it can be done.
Win or lose, Sanders has carried his message to the highest levels of politics.
I am in awe of what he has accomplished.
Chris Graff, a former Vermont bureau chief of The Associated Press and host of VPT's Vermont This Week, is now vice president for communications at National Life Group. He is a regular columnist for Vermont Business Magazine. He is author of, Dateline Vermont: Covering and uncovering the newsworthy stories that shaped a state - and influenced a nation.