Our society has changed considerably since I first became aware of society.

Like most other Americans, I learned much of my social science from television. Certainly home, school and the street are learning laboratories that build character, mold society and shape value but the commonality since my childhood has been the tube. And in years to come, academic studies will certainly trace major societal trends to that small box in the living room where I saw my first political commercial.

Although it was my home that turned me onto politics, mass media is clearly the dominant source that shapes our opinion. The growth of the Web as a political tool and source promises to give the television a run for its political money in the future. And while I still seek out newspapers for the meat of the topic, those 30-second TV sound bites remain the images emblazoned in our minds.

During my lifetime, television has clearly been the single dominant force in shaping American political opinion.

According to the Astoria-based American Museum of the Moving Image (AMMI), “When television emerged as a mass medium in the early 1950s, TV advertising became an essential campaign tool. In 1948, there were TV sets in just 400,000 American homes. Over the next four years, the number rose to 19 million. In 1952, Madison Avenue advertising executive Rosser Reeves proposed the first political advertising strategy for television. He convinced Dwight Eisenhower that spot ads – 20-second commercials played during such popular TV programs as “I Love Lucy” – would reach more voters than any other form of advertising.

This innovation had a permanent effect on the way presidential campaigns are run.”

The presidential campaign which just ended spent hundreds of millions dollars on television commercials. While locally, candidates use newspapers and direct mail, on a national level television is the single largest expense category for political advertising – by far.

And as you sit back recovering from the roller coaster ride of the presidential campaign of 2004, we have a suggestion to help you enjoy the post-election depression. Now, although I write this the weekend before Election Day and I have a clear opinion on both what will happen and should happen, I fear as you sit and read this several days after the election, although a winner will have been named, the full court press may now have more significance in National politics than basketball.

So whether you’re waiting for a batch or several batches of judges to clarify what the American people said Nov. 2 or you’re just sitting and wondering how the president will tackle the awesome responsibilities ahead, take a short step back in presidential history with the AMMI.

“The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2004” is an innovative online exhibition presenting more than 250 television commercials from every election year beginning in 1952, when the first campaign ads aired, and including ads from this year’s campaign.

Visitors can watch nearly four hours of TV commercials and explore the expanding world of Web-based political advertising. The site includes a searchable database and features commentary, historical background, election results, and navigation organized by both year and theme.

You can view it in person at the museum or see it online at www.movingimage.us. You’ll need a high-speed connection and may have to upgrade your Windows or Real Audio viewer.

While the site was less user friendly than it should be due to viewer difficulties, it’s worth the effort.

Those of you who share my passion for politics and love of the political game can find nothing more compelling than Lyndon Johnson’s “Young Girl Counting Daisy Petals Exploding Bomb” commercial – my all time most memorable.

There is also the George Bush #41 campaign clinching Willie Horton Mike Dukakis slammer. You’ll enjoying seeing again that boy from Hope meet JFK.

They have them all. Go play. View it for it’s academic value, or better yet, view it for fun.

Discover that negatives work, commercials are memorable and we are indeed a product of our television.

With more than 250 presidential campaign television commercials and almost four hours of view time, right through the 2004 campaign., www.movingimage.us is the place to cure your post election blues.