Obama Hits Airwaves With A National Security Ad
Barack Obama goes up on the air with a new national security ad that doesn't mention Iraq but seems timed to coincide with his big Iraq speech today laying out his fundamental foreign policy differences with John McCain...
The ad says the most serious threat we face is nukes falling into the hands of terrorists, stresses his bipartisan work on that problem, and vows to "restore America's leadership in the world."
A list of states where the ad is running and a transcript of the spot are after the jump.
Where the ad is running:
Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia.
Transcript:
BO at town hall: We are a beacon of light around the world. At least that's what we can be again. That's what we should be again.
BO in interview: The single most important national security threat that we face...
BO VO:...is nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists.
BO VO: What I did was reach out to Senator Dick Lugar, a Republican, to help lock down loose nuclear weapons.
BO in interview: We have to lead the entire world to reduce that threat.
BO at town hall: We can restore America's leadership in the world.
BO VO: I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message.
I remember one of the debates Kerry and Bush had, they were asked what the number one security threat was, and both essentially said "loose nukes." So I would think this ad will really resonate with people -- the issue, and that Obama was able to work with a Republican. Hard to see how McCain can say this is bad without implicitly criticizing Lugar (or Hagel? or Leiberman?).
July 15, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
He seems older, more Presidential, authoritative.
The kind of guy you want answering the phone at 3:00AM.
July 15, 2008 10:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Umm...wasn't Obama busted for overstating his role in the Loose Nukes bill? I remember reading (I think) that he added his name after most of the work was already done on it.
July 15, 2008 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Are you thinking of McCain with the, fuck, what bill was that?
July 15, 2008 10:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wasn't it an environmental bill?
July 15, 2008 2:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think so....Obama went with Lugar to Russia to help solve this problem. In fact, didn't Romney say Nuclear proliferation is a "liberal issue"?
July 15, 2008 11:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jonze you're wrong.
"Obama, Lugar Secure Funding for Implementation of Nonproliferation Law
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Printable Format
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ben LaBolt (Obama) or Andy Fisher (Lugar)
$48 million funding increase to be used to destroy conventional weapons stockpiles, intercept weapons of mass destruction and respond to proliferation emergencies
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee accepted their request to provide funding to implement the Lugar-Obama nonproliferation initiative. The Appropriations Committee expressed support for the initiative and provided $48 million for Lugar-Obama, $36 million for programs to destroy heavy conventional weapons, $10 million for efforts to intercept weapons and materials of mass destruction, and $2 million for rapid response to proliferation detection and interdiction emergencies. This is the culmination of an 18 month effort to authorize and fund the Lugar-Obama initiative.
First introduced in November 2005 and enacted in 2007, the Lugar-Obama initiative enhances U.S. efforts to destroy conventional weapons stockpiles and to detect and interdict weapons and materials of mass destruction throughout the world."
July 15, 2008 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jonze, you need to do a bit of research before you blithely or intentionally repeat untrue rumors.
July 15, 2008 10:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
Is anyone starting to find the general election kind of boring? I could care less "national security" This country is deep in paranoia mode as far as terrorism, etc. The EPA uses a $6 million (or so) per person figure to calculate the cost of regulation, but for DHS that figure is probably in the billions. The whole thing is preposterous.
But of course, the bush administration pumped fear as much as possible in order to justify their bullshit, now the population is primed for these sorts of appeals.
9/11 was a fluke (caused, in no smart part to the bush crews incompetence) our "enemies" are toothless.
July 15, 2008 10:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
I agree with you completely. This "war on terror" and the "terrorists are after us" is a load of crap to revitalize the war machine. We just weren't making enough war dollars after the collapse of the "vaunted" Soviet Union. That thread was a load of crap as well.
People, stop crapping your pants and start living life. 3 times more people die from handguns EVERY YEAR than died at the hands of terrorists. But now we can carry all guns all the time. 3 times more people die from drunk drivers EVERY YEAR but we let them drive again, and again, and again.
July 15, 2008 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ummm, the transcript merely says he "reached out to Dick Lugar to lock down loose nukes..."
Not an overstatement. Its an ad. He's selling his wares on National Security, and quite well, I might add.
July 15, 2008 10:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
If Romney is the Republican nominee for vice president, I hope he's hit over the head with that comment from the day he's picked until election day.
July 15, 2008 11:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wish I could remember the show (or even who was on it), but not too long ago a Republican talking head was explaining how McCain was interested in bipartisanship because he actually supported issues that were "typically Democratic", but that Obama was not, because all of the bills that Obama worked with Republicans on were attacking "typically Democratic" issues, and this Republican specifically mentioned non-proliferation as a "typically Democratic" issue. I mentioned at the time that we should be playing that up. (I really wish I could remember which Republican said it.)
July 15, 2008 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
It was Romney and it was on CNN.
July 15, 2008 1:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well,
Sen Lugar (R) himself confirmed that the Ad is accurate, as you will find below, so can the likes of Jonze quit spouting off lies about Obama's work on mukes. Sheesh.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/15/1200047.aspx
July 15, 2008 10:08 PM | Reply | Permalink