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Knowing It When We See It
World Conflicts Today
Like Potter Stewart, the Supreme Court Justice who claimed to know hardcore pornography when he saw it, Americans tend to believe that they know negative ads when they see them. But the regular failure of political candidates and their supporters to achieve consensus demonstrates the limits of an entirely empirical approach and suggests the need for establishing less subjective standards.
Perhaps the most important of these standards would deal with what or who is being attacked: attacking what a candidate has done would be fair game, whereas attacking who a candidate is would not. In the terms of this year's election, this might mean that it's:
- okay to criticize John McCain for underestimating opposition to a U.S. military occupation in Iraq, but not okay to call him a bloodthirsty warmonger
- okay to criticize Obama's willingness to talk without preconditions to Iran's bombastic president, but not okay to call him a cowardly appeaser
In this new graphics-based activity from World Conflicts Today, design posters criticizing a highly unlikely presidential candidate.
Ramzan Kadyrov is the prime minister and president of Chechnya, a republic that lies within the borders of the Russian Federation. A strong ally of Moscow, Kadyrov inspires strong feelings of both loathing and admiration among his fellow Chechens.
The loathing comes from the brutal tactics he and his irregular army of thugs, the Kadyrovtsi, have used in governing Chechnya. The admiration comes from the success he has had in returning stability to a war-torn republic and rebuilding a capital city, Grozny, that had been virtually destroyed.
Most Chechens appear to feel both loathing and admiration for Kadyrov. But not all. For some--particularly the Chechen rebels who view him as a traitor and the grieving families who blame him for the viciousness of the Kadyrovtsi--Kadyrov is the target of unalloyed hatred.
Activity
Read through the Chechnya report from World Conflicts Today. In reading through the history and obstacles sections in particular, list three things that Ramzan Kadyrov has done for which it would be entirely legitimate to criticize him.
Imagine now that U.S. laws have been changed to let anyone run in a presidential election. Kadyrov is running, and you have been hired by his opponent to discredit his campaign. Using two or more of the following Getty photos, design two collage-style posters criticizing Kadyrov. One poster should cite the actions you listed above, and the other should be a highly personal attack on Kadyrov's character.
Extra Activity
Which poster do you believe would make the more effective ad? Explain your reasoning.
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