: Imagine!…
In a culture in which the song “Fortune Son,” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, can be used to sell blue jeans to the middle class, it’s not surprising that Sen. John Kerry would make political use of a 1971 photo of himself with John Lennon. The photo carries this text:
While fighting in Vietnam, John Kerry saw that the well-being of the soldiers was being ignored to protect the interests of White House officials.
The disconnect between the image and the text is interesting because it blends the logos of the enthymeme (i.e. this is bad; the current president is doing it, too; I won’t do such a thing) with the peacenik ethos of Lennon. Is this effective? Perhaps with a certain crowd (i.e. those who are flocking to, and donating money to, Howard Dean).
