I'm William Jennings Bryan, and I approve of this message

As the leaves turn orange, as the Christmas decor is put up just behind and to the left of the Hallowe'en merchandise, and as C.A.S. exam season passes by without me participating (hooray!), I must endure another slew of campaign ads that all end in the perplexing phrase, "I am Slick Q. Politician and I approve this message."

I've wondered why politicians stated so in their ads. Isn't it obvious? Isn't it a little self-serving? Couldn't they say something else that is more interesting and memorable, such as "I'm Horace Maynard Philabuster and with your help we are going to wipe the floor clean with my opponent's ugly butt!"?

So, I did some research. It turns out that candidates are required by law to make such a self-evident pronouncement. This requirement came as a provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (sponsored by John McCain). Apparently, the purpose behind the provision was to force candidates to stand by their ads and discourage them from taking cheap shots at their opponents.

This certainly would have saved Senator Philabuster some grief, as he made the above comment in 2000, two years before the act was passed. Philabuster's opponent for the senate seat was Hoyt Rockefeller Montana, a man as chiseled and dapper as his name suggests. At the end of a support rally in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Montana shouted to the boisterous crowd, "I have to say, though, that my opponent is most definitely wrong about one thing!" And with that, Montana bent over and mooned the crowd revealing a very attractive derriere.

And, as you may have noticed in my title, apparently "I approve of this message" is the grammatically correct form, but don't tell that to the politicians who need to conserve those precious seconds of air time.