In honor of the PA primary ... a look back at Carville's 1986 "guru ad" against Bill Scranton III!

[gauguin57]

Democratic candidates, here's a cautionary tale from the Commonwealth of PA. Here in the "Alabama" portion of the state, I guess we "don't like weirdos"???

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/weekinreview/10ferrick.html

“… It gave (James Carville) the opening to use what came to be known as the ‘guru ad.’ The TV spot featured sitar music, pictures of the young, long-haired Mr. Scranton, a mug-shot like photo of the long-haired, bearded Maharishi and a sneering mention of transcendental meditation. Though the exact words were never used, the message was clear: Mr. Scranton is a weirdo!

“The ad was timed to air the Saturday before Election Day, too late for the Scranton camp to respond. … On Election Day, Scranton won in the state’s conservative heartland, but by a lower margin than expected.

Out of 3.3 million votes cast statewide, Casey defeated Scranton by a margin of 79,216. A victory of 2 percent. The political consensus was that it was the “guru ad” that did Bill Scranton in.