ABSTRACT
Political advertising, as one of the most visible components of a larger election campaign, largely involves the creation of a narrative, one that positions a candidate as providing a solution to the problems confronting the nation at a given time. The advertisement uses many of the fear tactics common to political advertisements, playing to concerns that Iran will attack the United States, even while offering little evidence that Iran would violate the terms of the agreement signed with the United States and several other countries. The exponential rise in political spending has come at a time when TV advertising revenues have decreased dramatically. Santali's rant deliberately invoked populist, anti-government discourse that pitted one group of citizens against another in order to fan outrage against Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package. Mediated citizenship allows for the possibility that advertisements will not be encountered in isolation.
