The original LBJ ad:
Huckabee’s knockoff ad:
Comment: Apart from the dubious ethics of using someone else’s creative work, Huckabee’s appropriation of LBJ’s famous “Daisy Girl Ad” depicting the countdown to World War III is ludicrous on its own terms. Conservatives might argue that LBJ’s portrayal of Goldwater as a dangerous extremist was dirty pool, and Goldwater himself later complained the “Daisy Girl Ad” inaugurated the genre of attack ads that have become ubiquitous in American politics (see video below); but liberals can argue equally forcefully that Goldwater invited such an attack by advocating use of tactical nukes in Vietnam, in his nomination acceptance speech when he said, “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice!” In addition, Goldwater had a history of provocative verbal gaffes, such as joking the U.S. should “lob” a nuclear bomb into the Kremlin men’s room. In any case, the ad was devastatingly effective when it first ran back in 1964, even though it aired only once. Now fast-forward to 2015. Huckabee’s version turns the “Daisy Girl Ad” on its head, because now you have a military hawk using the countdown imagery to criticize a negotiated peace! Finally, in case you’re mulling to what extent the candidate himself should be held responsible for ad content, Goldwater himself answered that question by saying the candidate is always responsible for what his campaign ads say (see video below).
In order to understand what’s really going on here, you again have to consider the context. The first Republican debate is almost upon us, and only 10 of the 16 declared candidates will make it onto the stage. This weekend’s polls will determine who makes the cut and who is left behind in this devilish game of musical chairs. Undoubtedly Huckabee and his handlers hope the notoriety generated by his Holocaust remark — and, now, the “Daisy Girl Ad” — will propel him into the top 10. He’s in serious danger of not making it otherwise. But Huckabee, if he really wants to be president, is playing a dangerous game, because if he survives the initial winnowing of the GOP field, these tactics will come back to haunt him. Democrats will use it against him the same way they discredit Goldwater in 1964. But Huckabee, whether he admits it or not, has no chance of becoming president or even vice president. In all probability, what he’s really campaigning for is a lucrative TV gig, and the best way to get it is by ginning up controversy that will keep him in the public eye. In our short-attention-span world, the paychecks that notoriety can bring is what this is really all about.