You're Screwed

Overview

Wielding scare tactics and emotional persuasion, Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 campaign advertisement Daisy implied that a vote for Barry Goldwater was a vote for nuclear annihilation. Condemned as fearmongering, the advertisement aired only once, yet its imagery became one of the most influential moments in political advertising. Its warning accurately reflected Cold War anxieties: Goldwater had suggested that nuclear weapons could be used on Vietnam. Johnson's own legacy remains divided, balancing landmark civil rights legislation against his escalation of the Vietnam War. Then again, perhaps we should be discussing the famous recording of Johnson asking his tailor to make more room in his pants for his "nuts to hang." Back to Vietnam, though, it's estimated that more than a million people died during the war. I apologize; what were we talking about?