Mitt Romney’s 30-second ad “Leadership” shows Romney running down a street that is surrounded by trees as a voiceover discusses the different negative situations that Romney has turned around. The ad’s male voiceover mentions Romney’s involvement in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and Romney’s closing of a budget shortfall that occurred while he was the governor of Massachusetts. Shots of Romney in different positions of power are interspersed throughout the video of Romney running. The first photo that is seen in the video is a picture of a magazine or newspaper that has Romney on the front cover with the title “Lord of the Rings”. Five different photos of Romney are quickly shown throughout the video. In these shots, Romney can be seen giving a speech, signing papers, or pointing to a chart. Some of the video’s shots focus on Romney’s feet or his shadow on the street as he runs. One of the voiceover’s lines corresponds with a shot of Romney’s feet and says “at every step, he’s met extraordinary challenges.” The ad also describes Romney as a “business legend” and as having “rescued” the 2002 Olympics. The video of Romney running is meant to show that he is a healthy man who is strong but who can also relate to the average person. The last shot shows Romney saying “I’m Mitt Romney and I approve this message” as he continues to run. The tone of the ad is upbeat and positive and the information provided is biographical. The ad does not mention Romney’s Mormon religious beliefs that have been the focus of much attention.
TAXES AND SPENDING Romney’s ad, while truthful in some aspects, omits important information. First, according to The Urban Institute, Romney didn’t raise taxes but instead raised fees that resulted in $400 million in revenue. The citizens of Massachusetts paid these higher fees. According to the Boston Globe, these fee raises were the highest in the nation. Romney’s fees made it more expensive for residents to “get a marriage license or a divorce, file a court case, buy a house, renew a driver’s license, or tap into a host of other state services,” (Klein 2003). Romney also implemented a “2-cent-per-gallon increase in a special gasoline fee,” (Mooney 2007). The ad also states that Romney fixed the budget shortfall by eliminating spending. This is true. According to the Urban Institute, Romney cut local aid by $230 million and he also made cutbacks to Medicaid that “totaled about $500 million below the preexisting trend,” (Bovgjerg 2004). Although the author points out that spending on Medicaid was budgeted to rise about 9 percent, or $500 million. Romney was criticized for his local aid cuts because some believed that these cuts forced local communities to raise taxes to make up the difference. OLYMPICS Romney took over as committee president for the 2002 Olympics in 1999. According to the New York Times, the Olympics had a $379 million deficit when Romney took over. But after the Olympics were over, there was a surplus of $50 million. This was accomplished in part after Romney cut the budget by $200 million.
BUSINESS In 1984, Romney founded Bain Capital, a Boston private equity firm, and according to the New York Times, made almost $350 million. In The New York Times article “In Olympics Success, Romney Found New Edge”, Romney is described as a “persuasive businessman” who is detail oriented. Although it is difficult to say whether or not Romney is a “business legend”, he was undoubtedly a business success. ETHICS One way to judge the ethical worthiness of an ad is through the TARES test. The first step looks at the truthfulness of the ad. As mentioned above, Romney’s ad is truthful in many ways but it also omits important information that would be relevant to most voters. Therefore, it can’t be said that the ad is truthful. The second step evaluates the authenticity of the ad. This ad seems authentic because it doesn’t harm or attack any of the other presidential candidates. The third step involves respect. This ad also seems respectful because through the information and visuals, it doesn’t “talk down” or make assumptions about voters. The third step looks at the ad’s equity. This ad doesn’t seem equitable because of the omitted information. Also, the ad’s quick cutaway shots make it difficult to follow for the average viewer who only sees the ad once. Also, some special knowledge would be necessary for the viewer of the ad to understand the kind of information that is omitted (about not raising taxes). The last step of the TARES step evaluates the ad’s social responsibility. This ad seems socially responsible because it isn’t promoting a product, or in this case a person, that would be bad for the country. If elected because of this ad, Romney would probably not be a President that was all negative. He seems to have strengths as a businessman and this could possibly make him a good President also. Based on the results of the TARES test, this ad is not ethically sound.
The Potter’s Box is another tool that can help make ethical decisions. The first step involves looking at the facts of the situation. We know that this ad portrays Romney as a healthy, average man and it makes claims about his previous successes in business, the Olympics and politics. The second step looks at the values. In this situation, we value honesty and the democratic process (freedom to make choices about candidates). The third step looks at our loyalties. From the citizen’s point of view, the loyalties should be towards the people of the United States, the other candidates, and the democratic process.
The ethical principle of Kant’s categorical imperative can be applied to this situation because it reinforces the importance of truth in all situations. Truthfulness is especially important in politics when voters are deciding who they would like to lead their country. Based on the Potter’s Box and the TARES test, Romney’s video is unethical. This ad omits key information about how Romney closed the budget gap while he was governor of Massachusetts. In the ad, it is stated that Romney closed the budget by cutting spending while not raising taxes. This implies that the increase in revenue did not cost the citizens of Massachusetts. But this is wrong and deceptive. In fact, some critics believe that a tax increase would have been fairer because fees “often disproportionately affect the poor, because they are not graduated to account for income,” (Weiss 2003). Sissela Bok writes that “those in government and other positions of trust should be held to the highest standards. Their lies are not ennobled by their positions; quite the contrary,” (Bok 1989).
SOURCES CITED Bovbjerg, R. (2004). State Responses to Budget Crises in 2004: Massachusetts. The Urban Institute.
Johnson, K. (2007, September 19). In Olympic Success, Romney Found New Edge. The New York Times.
Klein, R. (2003, July 24). Mass. Is Called No. 1 in Fee Hikes. The Boston Globe, pp. A1.
Mooney, B. (2007, June 29). Taking office while remaining an outsider. The Boston Globe, pp. A1.
Roy, C. (2003, February 27). The Governor’s Financial Plan/$60M Idea: Plan Would Raise Fees on Certain Services. The Boston Globe, pp. B5.
Weiss, J. (2003, February 28). Romney Proposals on Fees Draw Fire. The Boston Globe, pp. B1.
