Peace Through Strength (1980 Political Commercial)

Posted on January 30th, 2010 by admin

Ronald Reagan’s television spots were not particularly artful. The centerpiece of the campaign was a conventional biographical ad tracing Reagan’s career and crediting him with reducing California’s deficit while lowering taxes. The ad’s main purpose was to show that Reagan—best known to the public as a movie actor—was also an effective governor.

The rest of Reagan’s ads were simple but effective variations on the central question he put to voters: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” A variety of attack ads reiterated the main problems of the Carter administration: high inflation and the hostage crisis. One spot,credited to “Democrats for Reagan,” included a clip of Ted Kennedy shouting, “No more Jimmy Carter!” during the primary campaign. An unusual negative spot featured Nancy Reagan lambasting Carter for his “vacillating” foreign policy. Though it is common for advertising to feature a candidate’s family members, spouses rarely appear in attack ads.

Reagan’s campaign took advantage of a loophole in federal financing laws designed to limit overall campaign spending. These laws placed a ceiling on the amount of money that could be contributed directly to a campaign, but they also permitted the creation of political action committees, independent groups whose expenditures in support of candidates were not counted against the spending limit. PACs spent a total of $12 million dollars on Reagan’s behalf, compared to less than $50,000 on Carter’s.

Duration : 0:2:2


[youtube 3Z0VQ4vFwPU]

25 Responses

  1. BennyS0305 Says:

    Reagan/Obama the …
    Reagan/Obama the best usa ever have

  2. 12oink12 Says:

    “without …
    “without preconditions”

  3. 12oink12 Says:

    who said that?
    who said that?

  4. 12oink12 Says:

    And his message is …
    And his message is just as ignored and doubted.

  5. sarcoed Says:

    You are correct but …
    You are correct but the stakes were much much higher then and the mind set of the USSR was much different than the radical and hateful present day Iran. As Teddy Roosevelt said “speak softly and carry a big stick” both the USA and USSR had some very big sticks unlike Iran. Iran would love to buy more time to perfect their nuclear weapon and they know they can drag it out with Obama. Once they test it the stakes will change dramatically.

  6. RationalEmotive Says:

    “War is Peace

    “War is Peace
    Ignorance is Strength
    Freedom is Slavery”

  7. Darthbelal Says:

    Geez, Reagan’s …
    Geez, Reagan’s commercial is as relevent today as it was back in 1980.

  8. tuttlemsm Says:

    Excuse me?


    Excuse me?

    Barack Obama is the one who is willing to negotiate with our enemies— JUST AS REAGAN ASSERTS HE WILL DO IN THIS AD.

    Nice try, thank you for playing.

  9. Nady79 Says:

    You are absolutely …
    You are absolutely right! If JFK would be running for president today, he would be undermined by the media and all the loons out there. I dont think JFK would recognize his brother Ted Kennedy either. With all due respect to Ted Kennedy, he is also another loon.

  10. ferich2001 Says:

    It’s truly rare to …
    It’s truly rare to find the level of ignorance your comments have displayed here. I suggest you talk with someone who lived thru this time period, so you can learn what happened. BTW Mr.Carter lost the election after allowing the “current middle east bungle” to happen.(historical fact)

  11. annigeturgun Says:

    A-Men.
    A-Men.

  12. ilovemro Says:

    Wow I actually …
    Wow I actually threw up a little bit in my mouth while watching this. Reagan did not win the cold war, he helped to torture half of south america and got our foot in the door to the current middle east bungle. He asked not what his country could do for us but how much money it could make for his compatriots. A true through and through traitor to this nation and to the human race. He did not start this movement he simply helped along the servitude we continue to enjoy.

  13. UncleGeorgeW Says:

    I agree!!
    I agree!!

  14. johnross12 Says:

    Barack Obama has …
    Barack Obama has learned well from Jimmy Carter.

  15. stillJR Says:

    We miss and need …
    We miss and need you Ron!

  16. NatureBoyUSA Says:

    I don’t think JFK …
    I don’t think JFK would recognize today’s Democrat Party. Not only was JFK a hawk on foreign policy, he was also a strong tax cutter on domestic policy.

  17. meh130 Says:

    JFK wanted to end …
    JFK wanted to end the arms race? Have you ever heard of the term “Missile Gap”? Google it. Kennedy was the biggest hawk of all candidates in 1960.
    Oliver Stone’s movie JFK was not a documentary.

  18. 1madmartagan1 Says:

    Yeah… and the …
    Yeah… and the Communists built the Berlin Wall to keep Westerners from fleeing to their socialist paradise…

  19. Aurelian603 Says:

    Ronald Reagan were …
    Ronald Reagan were are you when we need you the most ?

  20. NatureBoyUSA Says:

    Of all the people …
    Of all the people who deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, it was Ronald Reagan.

  21. trink968 Says:

    your an idiot… …
    your an idiot…dumb ignorant liberal.

  22. AlexanderRaccoon Says:

    The cold war was …
    The cold war was very real. We were just smart about it. We found ways to earn money with military strength and Regan knew the Soviets. They spent themselves into oblivion with the arms race, taking money from the people at their expense rather than finding ways to pump it back into the economy. USSR was an epic fail and we did not have to fire a shot.

  23. jeff99az Says:

    its too bad the GOP …
    its too bad the GOP today doesn’t have the type of leadership that Reagan brought

  24. JoeSmoeX Says:

    Peace through …
    Peace through strength (Cold War) = a sham which was just a massive money making gambit for the military industrial complex.

    JFK wanted to end the Cold War thereby ending the lucrative arms race.

  25. ranger192 Says:

    Great video. We …
    Great video. We need this message in today’s world as well.

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