By Tyler Roth
Every year around election time, there are drawn out debates on cable talk shows and in op-eds about “going negative,” and the repercussions of modern political combat. Campaigns, like the playing field, can be low and dirty. In a war to win, opponents tirelessly work to destroy each other with no pretense of civility or truth. Tactics such as defamation and cheap shots are weapons used to put opposition on the defensive and success can take the form of embarrassment, exposure, or flat out slander. Commercials from athletic companies such as Nike and Adidas often glorify smack talk, suggesting that bad manners are an ingredient of victory. The same can be said for politics and mudslinging – we envision the two walking intimately down the road hand-in-hand.
Trash talk can give you the extra edge in a close race, vilifying your opponent or allow you to get in the head of your rival, disrupting any rhythm or composure. Some of the most successful athletes certainly didn't include compassion or restraint among their repertoire of strengths. Michael Jordan, Deion Sanders, Charles Barkley, Mike Tyson, Larry Bird and Muhammed Ali were all iconic showmen who never shied away from verbal assault. If you showed any sign of character weakness, these guys recognized it and they exploited it.
While you may read about the declining moral fabric of our politicians or the lack of sportsmanship from our athletes, mudslinging and trash talk are, in fact, as old as time and thus, embedded into our history. George Washington, the Father of our Republic, was referred to as a gambler, swearer, horse beater and blasphemer by his anti-federalist enemies. Jefferson was attacked for his alleged affair with an African-American mistress. Abraham Lincoln, his physical appearance. Grover Cleveland, fathering an illegitimate child. Often considered one of the more infamous attack ads in the last century was that of incumbent President Lyndon Johnson towards his Republican opponent, Senator Barry Goldwater. Familiarly known as the “Daisy Ad”, Johnson's campaign strategists attempted to depict Goldwater as an overly aggressive politician intent on war. They did so by illustrating a little girl counting daisy petals in a meadow only to have her innocent moment disrupted by an ominous countdown and nuclear explosion. While the fear-mongering and controversy were glaringly obvious, President Johnson went on to win the 1964 election by a landslide and many attributed the ad (which only aired once) with playing a significant role in his success (ironically, President Johnson would go on to increase American intervention in Vietnam throughout his second term, inciting critics to rally “Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids have you killed today?”).
It should not be understated, however, that many candidates and athletes have gone on to win without the help of demeaning their adversaries. Some politicians ask their opponents to sign “clean campaign” pledges, which as the name would indicate, challenges them to abstain from smear tactics and strictly adhere to policy debate. Similarly, many athletes choose to let actions speak louder than words and would argue that parrying their rivals banter only distracts them from a performance necessary to win. Because in the end, that's all that matters – winning. Childish platitudes that teach otherwise simply don’t apply in the cutthroat real world that is politics and competitive sports. While chapters are written about Goldwater, volumes are written about Johnson. That's not to say that we should abandon all decency in the pursuit of victory but rather that we should be accepting of the rules we agree to play by. And with elections on the horizon, we should all get ready to play ball.
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