Obama Vastly Outspending McCain On Ads At Jesse Helms' Old TV Station
We're going to bring you every bit of info we can find on the campaigns' national ad spending, and this is kind of a fun one.
It appears Obama is vastly outspending McCain on ads at the late Jesse Helms' old TV station in North Carolina, suggesting the campaign is making a real play for a state that hasn't voted for a Dem since Carter in 1976.
The Raleigh News and Observer reports that Obama has plunked down over $80,000 for ads at WRAL, a CBS affiliate in Raleigh. That's a decent sum for this point in the campaign. John McCain, by contrast, has spent nothing.
The interesting historical wrinkle here is that WRAL is the station where Helms had served as an executive since the 1960s and had done on-air editorials that were, shall we say, racially-charged. In 1963, Helms had this to say about Civil Rights protests on the station:
"The Negro cannot count forever on the kind of restraint that's thus far left him free to clog the streets, disrupt traffic, and interfere with other men's rights."
Forty-five years later, the first black man with a serious shot at becoming president is spending real money at this station and has at least a shot at winning the state. How about them historical apples, eh?
Comments (26)
Cool story. I hope BO makes a serious run in NC through OCT/Nov. Make the feathers rattle. Local organization, registration and turnout- I'd like to see a 4-5 point lead for Obama a week away from the D-day- send shivers down the GOP spine.
July 11, 2008 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
thx man. agree whole heartedly
July 11, 2008 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
By the way Greg, It would be nice if you guys can do a post on the political rhetoric and ramifications of another potential wall-street bailout [Freddie and Fannie.] If you already have done one, sorry I missed.
July 11, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Also, Greg -- the news that Senator Hagel will join Obama on the Iraq trip is huge.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/11/hagel-to-join-obama-on-iraq-trip/
Just let Mitt "I spent my Vietnam years in a Parisian cafe" Romney criticize Hagel for being unpatriotic/European/whatever. That would be a site to see.
July 11, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ah, very cool.
July 11, 2008 3:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
yeah, it's big, but the wall street journal already botched one today
July 11, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Will we now admit that there is at least a little merit sometimes to reaching across that ideological divide?
July 11, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
We can go to bed early on Nov. 4th if NC goes in the Democratic column.
July 11, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Or may be hit the local bars...lol.
July 11, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm already planning on taking November 5th off in either case, but I'd much rather like to be celebrating in a bar than sulking in my living room!
July 11, 2008 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
and Hagel is just man to have by Obama's side in Iraq. A joint Obama-Hagel statement on Iraq after the trip will be pretty hard to attack.
July 11, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
If only the Senator were still here to enjoy this.
July 11, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, he's STILL trying to BUY the vote.
Big news.
He's still a HO.
July 11, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe you should trot your stupid ass back over to the McCain troll pen (or PUMA corral, whichever works for you).
July 11, 2008 4:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
zOMG! Politicians are purchasing air time everywhere!11!! They're all corrupt!11!!1
You must be the first person to have realized this. You should blog about it, or something.
July 11, 2008 4:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where I live, I get both the Greensboro and Raleigh local stations on my DirecTV. Obama has been in pretty heavy rotation on local TV in both markets, and during all variety of programs.
Conversely, we haven't seen a single John McCain ad in NC in 2008. Not in the primary (which was uncontested), and not yet in the general.
July 11, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
I live in the south west area of NC (republican area) and ive seen both Obama and McCain ads but more Obama ads then McCain, in amount of ads and amount of different ads.
July 11, 2008 4:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
I live in the Raleigh metro area, and look forward to seeing more Obama ads in the fall, when I watch much more network TV (i.e., football season).
Obama's acceptance speech does overlap with NC State's season opener, which really does piss me off.
July 11, 2008 4:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
i can attest to this, having spent July 4th weekend with my grandmother in Raleigh. I saw two or three Obama ads each day (in the about four hours of tv she watches) and NO McCain ads.
it's the same in the Roanoke, VA tv market, where supposedly, McCain was going to buy ad time. i've seem multiple Obama ads every day, and i've seen ONE McCain ad in more than two weeks.
July 11, 2008 4:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
i can attest to this, having spent July 4th weekend with my grandmother in Raleigh. I saw two or three Obama ads each day (in the about four hours of tv she watches) and NO McCain ads.
it's the same in the Roanoke, VA tv market, where supposedly, McCain was going to buy ad time. i've seem multiple Obama ads every day, and i've seen ONE McCain ad in more than two weeks.
July 11, 2008 4:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
sorry for the double post.
silly "no you're not really a commenter"..."no you've tried to comment too many times already" error msgs.
July 11, 2008 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
this constitutes a hearty Hi-Ho LOL!!!
July 11, 2008 4:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jesse Helms must be spinning in his Hell Fire.
July 11, 2008 5:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, he probably is.
Reading Helm's rant from 40 years ago just reminded me of how Limbaugh sounds today on his station. He spews the same venom.
July 11, 2008 5:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
he's a HO.
you people still drunk on the koolaid.
July 11, 2008 6:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Pity the odiferous old curmudgeon didn't live to see it.
July 12, 2008 4:51 AM | Reply | Permalink