Analysis of Thinking Mom the 2004 George Bush Television Advertisement

Bush 2004 "Thinking Mom" http://pcl.stanford.edu/campaigns/2004/archive.html

Description of the ad:

The ad begins with a close up a woman looking at the clock in her car as she is driving and realizing that it is 5:30 and she still has many errands to run. She then tunes into what the announcer on the radio is saying. First, he says that John Kerry and the liberals in congress want to raise gas taxes to be ten times higher. There is a voice-over of the woman thinking to herself "10 times? Gas prices are high enough already." She looks very agitated. At the same time, the words "Raise gas taxes 10 times" appear in big green letters on the screen. Next, the radio announcer says that Kerry wants to raise taxes on senior social security benefits, and once again, these words are repeated on the screen in big, green letters. The next statement made by the radio announcer is that Kerry wants to raise taxes on middle class parents 18 times. The announcer also adds the comment "No relief there for the married." Again, the words appear on screen but at the same time, the woman thinks aloud, "More taxes just because I'm married? What are they thinking?." Then we hear the radio announcer saying something about "350 times" but it is not attributed to anything in particular. Finally, just before the obligatory "I am George W. Bush and I approve this message," the announcer reiterates that Kerry and the "liberal republicans" mean higher taxes.

Application of Burke's Pentad

Act: Listening to "the news" on the radio station while driving (This is something most Americans can relate to since this is where many people get their daily news)

Scene: In the car (the setting emphasizes the raise in gas taxes)

Agents: The woman driving and the radio announcer (although the announcer is really just the mouthpiece for the Bush campaign -- there is no way to tell if he actually believes what he is saying)

Agency: The woman gets increasingly agitated as she listens to the announcer. The announcer sounds increasingly disgusted with Kerry's alleged plans, making comments such as "no relief there"

Purpose: The woman acts agitated because she is worried about the higher taxes. The radio announcer's purpose is to convince listeners like her to vote for Bush instead of Kerry because they don't want higher taxes.

Analysis

The act and the scene are coordinated in the sense that the agents are both vocally present. However, only of the agents one is physically present. Therefore there is somewhat of a discord between the agents and the act, and the agents and the setting. Another element that is distinct that could tend to complicate Burke's triad is the fact that the announcer is merely the messenger as opposed to the actual speaker of the sentiments. Bush himself is the true agent because this the message that he is trying to send, but he is using the announcer to send it rather than speaking the words himself. So there is coordination between the agent (radio announcer) and the purpose, which is to turn voters against John Kerry by reporting his alleged plans to raise taxes for the average person like the woman we see driving the car.

The coordination of the ad tells us that the motivations of the group presenting it is to reach the typical American parent/spouse who is spending their time and gas money picking up groceries and doing other things to take care of their family, but instead of being rewarded for their hard work and dedication, if they vote for Kerry, they will instead be severely penalized through higher taxes. Ultimately, the motivation is to win the election. However, the more indirect motivation is to discredit John Kerry and the "liberals" (a term that is spoken as if it were the most reprehensible term on earth) by making it seem as if they are 'out to get' the average American. The implication is that Kerry does not have the best interests of the American public at heart.

Interestingly, there is never anything said positive about Bush in this ad. All of the announcer's comments and the woman's thoughts are based on negative reflections of Kerry. There is a never a moment when the announcer implies that Bush would not raise taxes or that Bush is looking out for the average American. These thoughts are merely expected to be inferred by the listener because they are in contrast with what the announcer is saying about Kerry. Since everyone knows that Republicans and Democrats are in contrast, then it is supposed to be naturally assumed on the part of the listener/view of the ad that Bush will either lower taxes or will not raise them. This way, Bush is not accountable for breaking a promise not to raise taxes because he never actually said he would not raise taxes -- he merely said that Kerry definitely would. Therefore he is absolved of responsibility because he cannot be held accountable for what the public "assumes" or interprets from his advertisements.