Hm, somewhat corny, but only insofar as her ad was corny, so the rejoinder is necessarily burdened with the same excesses. Otherwise, I would say that this is a very effective ad. If I were undecided (which I am not) it would help move me over into the Obama column.

Brilliant. I have no idea how they get these done so quickly (and so professionally). The only thing I would have changed is to have began it as a more clear response to Clinton (i.e., "Senator Clinton tells us that there's a phone ringing..."). But what do I know? Great ad.

nice to see an immediate fight back. i like it substantively as well.

Here's a question: What if Kerry had responded within 12 hours with an ad rebutting the swift boat piece of crap? I don't know if it would have changed the result in the end, but at least we wouldn't have had to see that stupid ad playing over and over without a rebuttal.

I'm not going to critique the ad, I'm just thrilled they responded so quickly. It might even be early enough to make tonight's news.

Ouch.

YES! Game, set, match. That absolutely proves Obama is not soft and can fight back firmly and promptly but respectfully. While Hillary peddles fear, Obama peddles truth.

Hillary I think is intent on ruining any chance she had to be VEEP or to run again as a Democrat in 2012 in the event McCain wins. This morning there was still a strong chance I would vote for her in the general election if she got the nomination. But after her fear mongering ad today, I know with certainty that I will never vote for a Clinton again.

I like it. It's harsh but we can't get complacent!

Plus he gets to the damn phone more quickly.

Obama's media folks are damn good. They are consistently able to get out effective response ads, that stay classy, within the same news cycle as the original attack. And the responses are considerably more powerful.

Certainly not going to get caught slipping on the deck of a swiftboat.

Which one of these candidates is going to investigate why stock footage of sleeping children is readily available?
I mean who, other than these two campaigns apparently, needs stock footage of sleeping children?

I liked that they used the first few seconds of the Clinton ad. It's a clever tactic, because a lot of folks who liked the original ad will start watching it again, only to be surprised by the different direction it goes in after the fist few seconds.

confused it's set to run but is it going to run?

I love how fast Obama is responding to this bull. Looks like Repub jackasses wont have days of unanswered attacks to count on like in recent history.

Scare ad? What are you guys "scared of"? Obama as this thing wrapped up, right? So "what" if Hillary is better qualified to be commander-in-chief, as evidenced by the endorsements of 30 generals and admirals.

We want Obama who is gonna unify us all . . . by doing exactly what? Oh, I forgot - daily rallies in the Senate Chamber - Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham chanting: "Yes, we can"!

(Though my guess is this ad is more for the news shows and blogs that covered Hillary's ads... in which case, it works perfectly.)

The most important use of the Obama ad will be that it forces the network and cable news shows to show both ads, not just Clinton's alone. Clinton's campaign doesn't get a free airing of their ad, as they might have hoped when these ads get played over the weekend.

There was a nice touch at the end of the Obama ad pointing out the cooperation with Richard Lugar, the Republican senator in the adjacent state of Indiana. Obama is appealing to Republican cross-overs in Ohio, as well as in Texas.

Anyone know how many retired Generals, Admirals, etc., have endorsed Obama, and who? Because I'm telling you, this national security thing is a problem for him. Fear is a very powerful emotion. It is used everyday to sell everything from supporting wars to selling pimple cream. We shouldn't underestimate it. It needs to be addressed not ignored.

Because dammit, it IS a dangerous world. And *Someone* will be answering the (figurative) phone. And I personally would like them to be able to conference in someone who knows what the hell to do. Obama needs to surround himself with a bunch of retired military guys and I mean right quick.

And does everyone agree that the Veep needs military experience?

I note the following result from the FoxNews/Opinion Dynamics poll published today (the latest poll posted on this site under February): Obama behind 8 points in OH; ahead 3 points in TX.

Can anyone tell me if Fox News polling is as crappy as everything else about Fox News? And while your at, if you know, can you tell me which polls are most credible: Rasmussen, Zogby, SurveyUSA? Some other? None of the above? Rasmussen and Zogby are showing OH to be much closer than Fox. They pretty much agree with Fox on TX.

Humorous note: The Clinton campaign has stated that Obama must have a clean sweep on Tuesday. A less than perfect outcome will signal that the Democrats are having buyers remorse and want the race to continue. They really and truly believe they're talking to idiots.

Turns out Howie Kurtz over at WaPo had the details on the origin of Hillary's "3 AM phone call" ad this morning:

it's not "plagiarized," it's just recycled. The guy who conceived it is the same guy who conceived the same concept for Walter Mondale 24 years ago.

Howie said:

But perhaps its closest cousin is the 1984 "red phone" ad that Walter Mondale ran against his primary opponent Gary Hart: "The most awesome, powerful responsibility in the world lies in the hand that picks up this phone. The idea of an unsure, unsteady, untested hand is something to really think about." That ad was made by media adviser Roy Spence, who now works for the Clinton campaign.

Check it out:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/02/29/clinton_as_commanderinchief_1.html

Obama's ad used the first 5 seconds or so from Hillary's ad. What are the "intellectual property" implications here? Is this plagiarism? Anyone?

In ratings I believe Survey ranks high, Rasmussen okay, Zogby erratic often crappy. I think the Fox poll on OH is an outlier given that others have it in the 2-5 pt range of difference.

"Obama's ad used the first 5 seconds or so from Hillary's ad. What are the "intellectual property" implications here? Is this plagiarism? Anyone?"

Probably falls under free speech provisions, ie. intellectual criticism, satire, etc.

Plagiarism is an academic problem, doesn't apply to political campaigns (despite Hillary's wish).

Copyright is only for certain content (Hillary probably bought the original video from a stock video source).

If Obama's camp bought the same video stock, then he has usage rights.

Dang. Quick response. Typical of this very effective campaign.

Kerry would've responded about a week later and then would've apologized for something.

I'm happy to see that the money I've been contributing to Obama all year is being used so wisely. I've never seen such a smoothly-run, fast, and intelligent campaign. Ever.

If Obama and his advisors can run our country anywhere near as well as they run his campaign, well...

...yes we can.