(2004-02-20) — To overcome a 52-point deficit in the polls, presidential campaign ads run in New York for North Carolina Senator John Edwards will feature subtitles translating his southern drawl into printed English.
A campaign spokesman said the idea came from the new Mel Gibson film, The Passion of the Christ, in which all dialogue is in several ancient languages, with English subtitles.
“We screened some of Edwards’ stump speeches for New Yorkers,” said an unnamed campaign spokesman. “The focus group subjects said, ‘I like this guy. He seems sincere, but I have no idea what he’s saying.’”
Not all Edwards commercials will use subtitles. Some will show the candidate lip-synching a John Forbes Kerry stump speech.
“It’s not what you say, that matters,” the spokesman added. “It’s what you look like when you say it. Senator Edwards believes the same things as Senator Kerry, but when he says it, he looks like he believes it.”
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