ABSTRACT
For several decades, political observers and analysts have lamented the negative impact that television has purportedly had on the American presidential election process. Among the foremost complaints have been those leveled at televised political spot advertisements. Critics have maintained since the inception of political spots in the 1952 campaign that the use of such messages has weakened rational debate of important issues by focusing instead on slick and often misleading candidate images and frivolous emotional appeals more suitable for peddling perfume than leaders. In addition, such messages have repeatedly been condemned for being too short to permit adequate coverage of complex issues, even when such topics are the chief focus of their content. Nowadays, most political announcements are 30 seconds long, some 60 seconds; critics argue that such time frames offer little opportunity for anything but the most abbreviated presentations of issue information, argument, and debate.
