ESL Podcast 825 - Political Advertising
election - an event when people vote for political representatives or new laws
Who do you think will win the presidential election?
sick of - tired of something; not wanting to have or do something anymore because one has had too much of it
I'm sick of hearing you complain about everything I do!
political ad - an advertisement encouraging people to vote for a particular candidate or to vote for or against a new law
The new political ads show ordinary citizens explaining why it's important to vote for the new law.
flyer - a piece of paper with text and images, often used to describe a product or event
Somebody gave us a flyer for the new restaurant that opened recently down the street.
canvasser - a person who goes to homes and businesses to educate people and ask them to vote a particular way or to donate money to a particular organization or cause
A canvasser knocked on the door and asked us to sign her petition.
doorbell - a small device on the wall outside of a home next to the front door that makes a loud ringing noise when pushed
Please don't use the doorbell, because it will wake up the baby. Just knock.
nonstop - without stopping; continuously; without a break
The TV is on nonstop in their home, from the moment they wake up to late into the night.
attack ad - a very aggressive political advertisement that explains why people should not vote for a particular candidate
Do you think it's fair for attack ads to talk about candidates' family life?
out of hand - out of control; having exceeded the limits; too much of something; too far
The party got out of hand and the teenagers destroyed much of the home.
campaign finance reform - efforts to make politics and elections more fair by changing how money is used in "campaigning" (efforts to be elected)
If campaign finance reform is successful, anyone should be able to run for president, not just wealthy people.
political action committee - an organization that accepts many donations and uses the money to help one person be elected or to help a law get passed
Do you think she would have won without the help of the political action committee?
soft money - money that is donated to an organization, not to the candidate, so that the money is not tracked closely and is not subject to as many legal limitations
Candidates can accept only a few thousand dollars from individuals, but there are no limits on how much soft money can be used to fund their campaigns.
media campaign - coordinated efforts to use television ads, newspaper articles, magazine stories, radio ads, and the Internet to get people to vote for a particular candidate or law, or to get people to buy a particular product or service
Politicians are experimenting with new ways to use the Internet in their media campaigns.
smear campaign - coordinated advertising efforts to make another candidate look bad, especially by talking about the candidate's mistakes and/or family life
The latest smear campaign focuses on the candidate's divorce.
fed up - very frustrated and tired of something; not wanting to have or do any more of something, usually because one has had too much of it or because it has become too extreme
Ms. Pappenkorf is fed up with students who don't do their homework assignments on time.
propaganda - biased information and materials that present only one perspective or that use statements that are false or only partially true
The USSR and the USA used a lot of interesting propaganda during the Cold War.