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Believe it or not, this four-minute commercial ran on TV in the 1964 general election race between President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, and Republican candidate Barry Goldwater of Arizona.

The ad, known as "Confessions of a Republican," has found new life for what some say is its eerie similarity to another tough-talking conservative who's looking to be the Republican standard-bearer in 2016.

Then, as now, the fight for the White House was seen as a fight for the conscience of the country.

More astute readers will recall Goldwater, author of "The Conscience of a Conservative," is most famous for saying that:

"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."

Goldwater's remarks were intended as a defense of conservatism.

And while they're no "We're going to building a beautiful wall," they had a similarly jarring effect.

As one historic site notes, Goldwater's remarks "merged in the public consciousness with statements in which Goldwater advocated the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Vietnam and argued that Social Security be made voluntary."

Here it is:

There are some similarities:

"Now maybe I'm wrong. A friend of mine just said to me, 'Listen, just because a man sounds a little irresponsible during a campaign doesn't mean he's going to act irresponsibly,'" the commercial's protagonist says at one point. "You know that theory, that the White House makes the man. I don't buy that. You know what I think makes a President - I mean, aside from his judgement, his experience - are the men behind him, his advisors, the cabinet. And so many men with strange ideas are working for Goldwater. You hear a lot about what these guys are against - they seem to be against just about everything - but what are they for?"

And there are some differences:

For one, it's nearly impossible to imagine any campaign, in this age of Twitter and YouTube, airing a two-minute commercial where the only thing that happens is some guy speaking thoughtfully into a camera. And ... he's pretty clearly smoking - which would never, ever happen in a modern campaign advert.

It's worth noting that Johnson went on to romp in 1964 in the biggest landslide since 1820. Here's what the electoral map looked like when the votes were counted:

What do you think? Have your say in the comments.