Images of huge multicultural crowds set to inspirational folk music, bathing an improbable liberal presidential candidate in Americana? Before Bernie Sanders did it in his famous "America" ad, Rev. Jesse Jackson sought to capture the same patriotic feel in his 1988 bid.
The Jackson ad begins with a huge rally marked by American and rainbow flags, followed by silent footage of Jackson speaking at the podium and holding hands with supporters. Over the images of racial unity is a twangy song written for the campaign: "We the people / Will win for our nation / Jesse's the hope for a future unseen. We are the people / We are the voice / of the American Dream."
It may not reach same emotional heights and strike the same nostalgic notes as Sanders' "America," which spends more time capturing the daily lives of Bernie supporters and creating a feeling of a bottom-up grassroots movement. But it had the same strategic objective: make an ideological candidate seem quintessentially American and mainstream.
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