EDITORIAL: Tanks for nothing

Somebody pass out the helmets. A dispute over who created one of the most famous and effective presidential campaign advertisements in recent history is getting nasty.

At issue is the 1988 TV spot featuring Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, the Democratic nominee for president, riding around in a tank, headgear firmly attached. Mr. Dukakis’ team staged the photo-op to bolster his awful defense credentials and convince voters he was a worthy commander in chief. Instead, the stunt became a ready-made attack ad that locked up the presidency for Republican George H.W. Bush.

That advertisement was the subject of a Politico documentary, “Dukakis and the Tank: The Making of a Political Disaster.” The short film featured longtime Las Vegas public relations consultant Sig Rogich, who served as Mr. Bush’s director of advertising. Mr. Rogich detailed the thinking behind the ad.

This summer, that short film won a regional Emmy award from the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Late last month, Review-Journal political columnist Steve Sebelius interviewed Mr. Rogich and blogged about the ad, the Politico documentary and the award. Mr. Rogich explained his work in the creation of the spot.

That interview sent Mr. Rogich’s former campaign colleagues scrambling to assert their roles in the production of the ad. Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes, who was in charge of Mr. Bush’s media team during the 1988 campaign, says the idea was his. Virginia-based political consultant Rick Reed, who says he was in the room when the ad was edited, claims Mr. Rogich had nothing to do with the spot. Meanwhile, Mr. Rogich’s version of events is supported by advertising executive Jim Weller, who served as creative director.

On Monday, Mr. Rogich told the Review-Journal’s Laura Myers that as the campaign’s director of advertising, he had a role in the production of every commercial. How could he have had nothing to do with a spot that was aired weeks before Election Day, during the World Series?

Moreover, it’s interesting that this spitting match started almost a year after the Politico documentary was first posted online — it didn’t mention Mr. Ailes — and months after it received an Emmy. Perhaps the 25th anniversary of the ad was the time to settle who did and didn’t do what, and not the 26th?

Regardless, Mr. Rogich and Mr. Ailes would be well-served to remember some words of wisdom from a man they once worked for. “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do,” Ronald Reagan said, “if you don’t care who gets the credit.”