One of the great ads of the 1964 campaign was titled “Confession of a Republican” which featured actor William Bogert playing an anxious GOP party member unloading his fears that his party’s nominee was scarily unfit.
Now the Clinton campaign has brought back Bogert for an updated ad that underscores the parallels between 1964 and 2016. Mimicking the Mad Men black-and-white aesthetic of the original, complete with jerky editing, the new ad is, like its precursor, squarely aimed at stalwart Republicans who can’t stomach their party’s candidate. The ad is very much a niche one, since it’ll mainly resonate with history nerds who will love the retro recreation of the original. But it carries with it an interesting subliminal message: Clinton is hoping to replicate Lyndon Johnson’s overwhelming landslide of 1964, burying Trump in the same type of electoral onslaught that destroyed Goldwater. And, if the Clinton camp is using LBJ’s playbook, then it also means that the Clinton campaign is probably going to unveil its take on “Daisy Girl” before November.