Already sick of "I approve this message"

From Wikipedia:

In American politics, "I approve this message" (sometimes in the past tense, with "authorize" in place of "approve," or with "ad" instead of "message") is a phrase frequently said by candidates for federal office in political advertisements on television and radio in order to comply with the so-called "stand by your ad" provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, enacted in 2002, that requires "a statement by the candidate that identifies the candidate and states that the candidate has approved the communication."  (Sunflower says: too bad they didn't have better things to do in 2002 - like read the information about Bush's authorization to invade a sovereign nation that had nothing to do with 9/11)

The provision was sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), with the stated intent of discouraging negative campaigning by forcing candidates to associate themselves with their attacks. Wyden has since proposed to extend the requirement to political advertising on the Internet.  (Sunflower says:  "looks like that didn't work too well for us).

The phrase can be said at any point during the ad, but is typically inserted at the beginning or the end. Some perceive the statement to be awkward and to make candidates look foolish; other candidates regard it as an opportunity to affirm or encapsulate the theme of their message: "I'm Howard Dean and I approve this message because it's time to take our country back." (Sunflower says - that didn't work too well for us either!)

In the 2006 elections, Senator Joseph Lieberman declared "I approve this election" in his acceptance speech, following his successful victory as a third party candidate (Connecticut for Lieberman).  (Sunflower thinks to herself - "Gee, isn't he a nice and funny man?  If only he'd been elected with Gore in 2000 - we could have annexed Israel as our 51st state and not have to go through all this Middle East stuff")

The phrase is sometimes used humorously in non-political discussion. In the 2004 campaign season, various businesses used this phrase in their ads in order to draw greater attention to themselves.  (Marsha - you have hit the nail on the head.  My name is Judith and I approve this message).

CCC, I approve your message, sure to follow, with the anticipated bashing of my statements. 

PEACE!

Marsh and Flower Girl, you're both right.  It's irritating as heck, but required by the relatively new law.

It's sort of like a campaign ethics law, something that doesn't really do anything other than allow lawmakers to say, "Hey, we reformed campaign ethics."

The way I figure it, if someone's campaign is releasing television ads without the candidate's approval, the candidate isn't qualified to make real decisions from the Oval Office.

Michael S. Mann

michaelsmann@comcast.net