The Daisy ad back in 1964 - was it accurate?

[hedgehog]

I'm referring to Johnson's ad with the little girl pulling petals off a daisy followed by the sight of an atomic bomb exploding. The implication was that Goldwater would have used nuclear weapons. Given that in the next few years we dropped more ordinance in Vietnam than in all of WWII and given that many were calling for VIetnam to be bombed back to the Stone Age, was the ad accurate? Would Goldwater have used the bomb? Don't forget, there were many on the right who had wanted to use nuclear weapons during the Korean War.

[whistle]

1. Yes, I believe that Berry Goldwater would have used nuclear bombs against

..Vietnam and would have willing gone into a nuclear exchange with the former USSR and expanded the conflict into China. Goldwater was a devout anti-communist and pretty much hung with the anti-communist groups of that political era.

[onenote]

2. that would require a time machine and a change in history to know

Would Godwater have used the bomb? Who knows? One can only speculate.

[acmavm]

3. You betcha!

[Poiuyt]

4. As I recall, the ad was more than just fear mongering

There was genuine concern that Goldwater would have pushed the button.

[NoPasaran]

5. "In your guts, you know he's nuts"

Goldwater may have mellowed a bit as he aged, but back in the day he was one scray, scary dude.

[rinsd]

6. He may have. I'll say this about Goldwater, he was upfront.

None of this Johnson BS about not sending boys off to Vietnam only to do just that.

His grand daughter just did a documentary(Goldwater on Goldwater) on him with quite a few Democrats appearing saying they think Barry would have been a Dem in today's world of the religious right GOP.

[originalpckelly]

7. In your guts, you know he's nuts...

I think that sums up the Daisy ad. Goldwater was a fucking nut, I mean this literally. He was mentally unstable and had numerous nervous breakdowns when he was a young man. The basic idea of that ad is: Do you want this nut to have his finger on the trigger to end all human civilization?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

8. FYI: A link to the online streaming video

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9109792001209503547&q=DAISY+POLITICAL+AD&hl=en

[WCGreen]

9. Goldwater was openly supported by the John Birch Society

and never disavowed that support...

BTW, that ad was shown only once....

[warrens]

10. No

Goldwater had said that some in the Pentagon proposed using low-yield nuclear weapons to defoliate the Ho Chi Minh trail. He added, I don't know if I favor that. He had been asked what else could be done about Nam.

That ad was below the belt, and it only ran once before it was yanked.

[hedgehog]

11. What was the timing of that statement.?

I don't remember hearing about the Ho Chi Minh trail until later in the war.

My thinking in asking this question is that this ad is always referenced as the ultimate dirty ad and I don't think it is. I think this ad was accurate in pointing out what a lot of people believed about Goldwater in 1964.

[jmowreader]

15. This is THE ultimate dirty ad

Jesse Helms' "Hands" ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIyewCdXMzk

[coda]

12. Probably depends on your reading of his statement that

...."Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice...."

[rasputin1952]

13. I met Goldwater once when I lived in Kingman, AZ. This is many years

after that ad was televised. I didn't get to ask him about it, I had other things on my mind at the time, but while he had mellowed over the years before his death, he was a hawk. He was a true conservative, and despised what the GOP had become under Reagan/Bush I. He believed in fiscal responsibility, a direct attitude in combating communism and he held the highest esteem for the nation and it's varied people.

I don't think Goldwater would have used nukes unless it was a case of retaliation. He understood that nukes were a very serious weapon, and he knew that once used, it would open the floodgates for all kinds of condemnation as well as an excuse for others to use them.

Now if you want someone who I believe WOULD have used nukes w/o hesitation, it would be General Curtis LeMay. While Goldwater was seriously anti-communist, LeMAy was downright rabid. He loved the concept of war, and would have used anything in the arsenal to make a point.

Goldwater has been treated by history as an anomaly, he had some great aspects, and some poor aspects. I think the real Goldwater came out in his twilight years. He loved his country, but wasn't too happy w/what the GOP was doing under Reagan/Bush.

[BootinUp]

14. Threatening to use and using

two different things. I think its highly unlikely he would have resorted to that.