Sept. 11, 1964 - The Democratic and Republican national chairmen signed a pledge today in Washington to promote fair play in the campaign.
The ceremony promptly erupted into an argument over the fairness of a television advertisement sponsored by the Democratic National Committee.
Dean Burch, the Republican chairman, said the advertisement’s “innuendo” amounted to “libel per se” against the Republican Presidential candidate, Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona.
John M. Bailey, the Democratic chairman, maintained that the complaint was unjustified.
Burch’s protest was against a television film showing a little girl picking petals from a daisy and counting. Suddenly, there is a terrifying nuclear explosion. Then a voice urges the election of President Johnson.
The implication, Burch complained, is that Johnson “is a careful man and Senator Goldwater may somehow cause some sort of atomic conflict because he is a perfectly reckless person.”
“This is not only libelous, but it is also the most violent political lie that can be told,” Burch added. “This horror-type commercial is designed to arouse basic emotions and has no place in this campaign.”
Bailey replied: “They think we are trying to scare people with the image of Goldwater. I think any image of Goldwater has been created by Goldwater himself.”
However, even viewers describing themselves as “loyal Democrats” have written the national committee complaining that the commercial was “too hard-hitting.”
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Comments