Many diaries have touched on Clinton's red phone ad. The media responded (they are much more interested in ads than discussion of complex issues). It surely influenced some voters. Ads distort reality, like any work of art. Ads are works of art; all art appeals partly because it distorts the factual world, think of El Greco and his long faces. El Greco sought to express ideas and promote himself, whereas ads usually promote corporate or other special interests. The red phone ad triggers many memes (1)- we’d all like a wise and powerful parent watching over us, hence religion, and we all want protection from evildoers, hence guns, police and armies. Works of art can be interpreted at multiple levels. Race and class influence almost everything. Do most white Americans think of “uppity blacks” when they see the ad? Probably not. Do they think “strong military, quick response”? Maybe. Does it distort their judgment? It tries to.
The ad evokes the meme of the President as Lone Ranger, springing into vigorous manly action on hearing of threats or evil-doing anywhere in the world.
There are two critical problems. First, rapid Presidential responses are often irrelevant or disastrous. Second, as Gary Wills pointed out, the Constitution says that the President is commander of our armed forces, not commander in chief of all of society. George Bush is not my commander, nor was Bill Clinton. Presidents abuse power. Even Truman, a mostly good President, wiretapped political enemies. How many political enemies will the next President wiretap?
The President should know of major developments domestic or foreign. However, the idea of quick Presidential action is crazy in the complex modern world. Consider a few examples: 1. Pearl Harbor- the day that will live in infamy. Japan protested the US Pacific military build up all through the 1941 year, and our Ambassador to Japan had reported rumors of a coming attack to Washington. The President could do nothing except curse when he learned of the attack. He certainly couldn’t spit out a plan for the Pacific War. The government was unprepared for an obvious problem.
What about Truman and the North Korean invasion of South Korea? That invasion was evil, but US failure to plan carefully and get bipartisan consensus for long term action in Korea was a serious mistake. Truman hoped for a quick roll back, just as Bush and Rumsfeld hoped for a quick and easy march through Iraq. What about Hurricane Katrina? The President is responsible for FEMA and other emergency services, (like Roosevelt & military preparedness in 1941) but the idea that he would suddenly take dynamic action when he heard that the 10th street canal had been breached is lunacy. As with Pearl Harbor, the problem should have been anticipated; our government was unprepared.
Hair-trigger Presidential actions mean that our government is incompetent and should be voted out of office as it could be in a parliamentary democracy. We need calm Presidents who involve both political parties before complex or risky action of any kind. We don’t have that today. McCain is dangerous, impetuous and war-loving. He joked about an easy Iraq victory in the summer of 2002. Clinton may not be impetuous, but she probably would not be able to get Republicans to join her in any complex urgent action. Obama may be a machine politician from Chicago, but he's calm and likely to seek bipartisan support for emergency actions.
US Presidents have too much power; they should not act quickly on their own. An effective President plans for the long term and knows that he/she is not commander/controller of the whole country. The red phone meme is primarily militarist; it benefits the sophomoric John McCain. The words fascist and racist have been so overused that they are no longer helpful, even though the problems to which they refer remain and have important biological and cultural roots. Professor Patterson’s analysis of the ad as racist shows that he is well read, but it’s not constructive (2). Our human race has many serious design faults, thanks to evolution. We are easily swayed by emotional appeals.
Our government is unbalanced: the President and military have far too much power. Consider Admiral Fallon, recently fired CENTCOM leader. He dissed Bush policies (insubordination) and couldn’t get along with General Petraeus (darling of the warhawks). I like what Fallon said, just as I agree with Gen. Tommy Franks who severely criticized Pentagon number 3 Douglas Feith. However, these military leaders are like Roman proconsuls (3) meeting with Presidents and Arab rulers. Congress and the people have no control over their actions. The fact that military proconsuls wield so much power makes us a 21st century Sparta. We spend more money for arms than the rest of the world combined; we are still funding Iraq & Afghanistan wars off budget. This reckless spending and Greenspan’s cheap money contributed to the current serious credit collapse. Bush and Bernanke are rushing to save Bear Stearns, and propose Medicare and Medicaid cuts. There isn’t enough money for militarism, healthcare and education. We must set priorities; The red phone ad conceals our problems. It promotes militarism and paternalism, right down McCain's alley...
Footnotes
- Richard Dawkins proposed the concept of memes- ideas, songs, words that “we can’t get out of our mind” which are contagious. Wikipedia has a clumsy explanation. There is a blog called the Daily Meme. Recurrent metaphors, themes, motifs and Jungian archetypes are related to memes and important in myth and literature. However, Dawkins' proposal that memes are "independent replicators" is not accepted.
- Orlando Patterson, The Red Phone in Black and White, NY Times March 11, claims that the ad seeks to evoke fears of black intruders.
- See The Defenese Technical Information Center document, Proconsuls and CINCs from the Roman Republic to the Republic of the United States of America: Lessons for the Pax Americana,