Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson and his running mate, Bill Weld released an ad this week aiming to highlight the differences between them and major party candidate Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
It’s a decent ad — simple, informative and without all the fuss of traditional campaign ads. Let’s run down the positives and negatives.
Positive: Pleasant music
It’s simple and upbeat, not overly dramatic like you’d find in so many campaign ads.
Negative: It’s a little too loud
Trying to hear the candidates speak but the music can’t be ignored.
Positive: Candidate bios
Johnson and Weld lay out the positive aspects of their careers as governors. Johnson says that he, as the governor of New Mexico, “vetoed wasteful spending 750 times, cut taxes 14 times and left the state with new highways, bridges, schools, hospitals and a billion-dollar surplus without raising taxes a penny.”
Weld explained that as the former governor of Massachusetts he “cut taxes 21 times and took unemployment from the highest rate among the 11 industrialized states to the lowest.”
I’ll leave the fact-checking of those individual claims to others. This is a campaign ad, everyone expects the truth to be stretched a bit.
Negative: Dead eyes
Did anyone else notice that neither of these guys had any emotions from their eyes? They were like empty husks reading from cue cards. That’s not the most important thing in the long run, but they did put themselves in the video — I need to feel like they’re alive.
Positive: Policy positions that sample from both major parties
The two former governors list several policy positions, including marriage equality and making a “small, efficient government that treats the American people like family instead of livestock.”
Some of their liberal policy positions on social issues could attract the remnant of Sanders voters who refuse to back Clinton and are now basically without a candidate. (Sanders hasn’t dropped out, but his candidacy is over.)
I don’t agree with everything they supported — I personally don’t want government to treat me like family. I have a family, I don’t need bureaucrat love. But a lot of their proposals make sense to those who aren’t in lockstep with either Democrats or Republicans.
Negative: Might be tough for many to reconcile policy positions
The downside to having policy positions that attract both parties is that they can also dissuade each party. Republicans who want smaller government might not be able to accept a candidate who will do that but also supports legal abortion. Democrats who support LGBT rights might not like the tax policies of those who cut taxes or vetoed spending.
Positive: #CLINTRUMP
I needed a simpler way to say “Clinton and Trump,” and now I have it. Thanks, guys!
Negative: White space
I know I complained about flashy ads earlier, but at least put a little color in the ad. Two guys standing in front of a white background is just boring. Though I guess it does speak to the simple policy proposals and style of these guys.
Positive: Bill Weld’s eye roll.
Gif moment right there.
Negative: ‘Come on’
Asking people to support you using the same phrase they use when trying to get their drinking buddy to do something stupid might not be the best strategy.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
