Obama's First General Election Ad: I Love America
The Obama campaign has announced their first ad of the general election season, a 60-second spot in which Obama re-introduces himself to voters in targeted states with the message that he loves this country:
Obama's narrative is clearly an effort to pitch himself as an accessible, down-to-earth American, and not the out-of-touch foreign bogeyman that some have made him out to be: "I was raised by a single mom and my grandparents. We didn't have much money, but they taught me values straight from the Kansas heartland where they grew up. Accountability and self-reliance. Love of country. Working hard without making excuses."
The ad will run in 18 states -- some of them longtime GOP strongholds that the Obama campaign is now apparently going to contest: Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia.
The ad is a masterstroke.
And I say this as someone who has frequently been critical of his ads. On this one I think they nailed it.
June 19, 2008 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
18 states is a big ad buy.
Time to start bleeding McCain dry.
June 19, 2008 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Money well spent.
June 19, 2008 12:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
This ad is almost as nauseting as "Morning in America" from 1984.
What's next, Uncle O riding in a tank wearing a funny little helmet?
June 19, 2008 12:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
What's your problem? You can attack Obama's policies and qualities as a candidate without resorting to snarky shit like that. Grow up.
June 19, 2008 5:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Simply beautiful.
June 19, 2008 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
BARACK IS QUIENTLY TELLING THE IRAQIS'S THAT HE HAS NO INTENTION ON GETTING US OUT IN 16 MONTHS.
this is wayY to unbelievable. not only has OBAMA lied to the country when he said one thing to us and another to canada regarding NAFTA, he is now discretely telling the IRAQ foreign ministry he has no plans to remove US troops in 16 months and that this is just campaign rhetoric. Now, add the fact that he has also just announced he lied to the american public regarding taking public financing over private and you can better believe what i have been saying all along is that OBAMA is a snake oil salesman and you folks have been taken.
http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=&vid=fe86c872-82f5-4525-afc7-e85d3ca13bd5
June 19, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Funny you should mention oil...
June 19, 2008 2:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you rely on Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan for your information, you are sadly misinformed. That was a terrible response from Harold Ford, though. I'll give you that.
June 19, 2008 2:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
In honor of Michelle spamming this comment on at least 7 different posts, I hereby award a $10 donation to the Obama Troll Bowl!!!!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/TrollBowl
June 19, 2008 2:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
DiD YOO EVEr GO to SKool? yoU DON'tt speLL TO gooD
June 19, 2008 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
What I get out of that ad is "Hey I'm white too".
June 19, 2008 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Really? I didn't realize you had to be white to love America.
June 19, 2008 2:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOL. I was thinking the same thing. Not one single person of color.
And you know something, he's smart to craft his image this way.
Every time you look at him you're reminded he's an "African American". What you can't see is he's also half white. That's a legitimate thing to point out when introducing yourself to the country. There's also the additional complication of his father. He's not just black, he's literally African. A foreign citizen.
Not something you want to highlight in this campaign.
June 19, 2008 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is it weird that I almost teared up a little. He is the first politician who actually seems to speak to my vision of this country. Loved it.
Though I am a bit suspicious of a White Sox fan in the white house.
June 19, 2008 1:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think the ad is pretty darned good and perfect for the states in which it's airing.
June 19, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm Barack Obama and do you see my shiny flag pin?
It's definitely a switch to a general election message. Doesn't exactly get me all excited, but it's a logical and probably effective message to start the general election.
June 19, 2008 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
America! Fuck yeah!
June 19, 2008 1:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great ad, right on point, best one I have seen him do. Well done!
June 19, 2008 1:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, look at that list of states!
Alaska?! North Dakota?! Wow - I guess fundraising is going well since the primary ended.
June 19, 2008 1:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I like the idea of running hard in the red states because it sends the message that Obama seriously wants their votes and therefore will listen to their point of view. You can't plausibly say you are a centrist candidate if there are whole sections of the country you write-off. Running hard in Kansas will pay dividends in Missouri not just because they have overlapping media markets but also because if you are trying to appeal to Kansans it says to the small town folks in Missouri that they are important to you too.
June 19, 2008 2:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
A Democrat reframing our values debate has been long overdue. This is an excellent ad.
June 19, 2008 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
My jaded and cynical side is annoyed by the sticky-gooey sweet honey the ad spewed out all over my keyboard, but my sappy, sucker-for-emotional-manipulation, cries-at-greeting-card-commercials side is all warm and fuzzy. So I guess that makes it a successful ad.
June 19, 2008 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think it's a great ad with some really nice touches, especially the shot of the up-close exchange with the elderly white woman. I also like the way he works his required approval into the text of the ad, not merely tacking it to the end.
Great first shot in the GE!
June 19, 2008 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Even his sincerity sounds phony. I loved how he almost choked when he said "love of country." Hilarious. When will Democrats start fighting on their own terrain? So far everything has been values and national security. The McCain folks must love that.
June 19, 2008 4:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Values and national security are not Republican terrain, at least not any longer.
June 19, 2008 5:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
You need to head to CVS. Maybe they have something for that cynicism of yours...
June 19, 2008 5:41 PM | Reply | Permalink