Good ad. I especially like the music - contra McCain's ad, which is meant to sound menacing, this ad kinda comes off as less negative thanks to the zippy and ear-catching music. Well done.

As for PowerPAC launching a voter registration drive, I don't think this is the type of activity Obama was trying to shut down. Wasn't his objection more to swiftboat type groups and ad campaigns? Doubt his campaign would have any objection to outside groups registering likely Dem voters.

I like the ad but I think if Obama was going to go there he should have a week or two ago. At this point the ad sort of comes off as, "Nuh uh! You are!"

Apparently the Obama ad people can't tell the difference between McCain's right and his left.

I liked that the ad had multiple shots of McCain embracing Bush. The Obama camp needs to hammer that point home again and again and again; i.e., McSame = Bush.

Good Ad!! But what took them so long? They should have release this Ad a week ago. Like i said last week, McCain's Ad has been running endlessly in New Hampshire.

I am pretty sure the underlining dynamics of the poll hasn't changed that much but Obama has remained static in the poll.

I like the ad. I think it is straight forward and effective without losing the whimsy of how silly this whole "celebrity" thing is. But I also think we focus too much on the ad wars sometimes. I'm much more concerned about the McCain speech on Georgia. This is a golden opportunity for a major foreign policy coup while Obama is getting some R&R. I can see it now.

"My friends, this aggression by Russia against Georgia must be met with a full and robust International response. As we speak, Russian tanks are rolling into Atlanta, Decatur, Athens, and Savannah in flagrant violation of the will of the International community. When will it end? When will Putin and Medvedev decide they've had enough? When they've taken over all of Georgia? When they've marched down the highway into Gainesville and been soundly beaten and turned away like the UGA football team? When will it end, my friends?"

I'm not impressed by the ad. It's both too little and too late, and comes off as overly reactive. If they were going to go there, they should GO there -- throw in the mansions and the shoes and the most appearances on both the Daily Show and MTP, etc. I get the feeling the campaign wanted to make this ad really hard-hitting but pulled back. To me, it feels caught in the middle, which is never a good place to be.

While Barack is the international rock star type celebrity, McCain is the cheesy game show type celebrity.

Let's keep seeing McCain hugging George W.

More, please.

The McSame "Celebrity" ad must have run 100 times over the weekend.

The McSame campaign is only interested in giving every (white) Murkin a (specious, spurious, but 'plausible') reason NOT to vote for Obama.

I think it'll probably work, frankly, sadly...

At some point we have to see the 8 houses and $500 shoes. I can't wait for that.

You know who loves this ad the most? Rove, Schmidt and Davis. Because they've knocked Obama off his pedestal of "new politics".

Of course if Obama had good surrogates he could easily explain that McCain made three ads trying to label him, including a $6M Olympic ad buy, and it was time to hit back. He just needs to make sure to push that defense when he is attacked by the right for "same old politics". He just has to make crystal clear that he can frame it as counter-punching after numerous gutter attacks. How he's been talking about policies and ideas whereas McCain has been smearing and slandering him and he's not going to stand by and let it happen.

How easy was that? In 30 seconds the Obama camp effectively responded to Buffalos Chip McSurge's "celebrity" BS. I hope this ad is running all over and repeatedly. Let's see more like this.

Next one I'd like to see: Iraq War - Bush * McCain - lies - forged documents - Bush + McCain - over 400 dead - "more wars" - "100 years" - Bush + McCain.

The ad is certainly entertaining, but it could also be a sign that the Obama camp sees McCain's efforts as effective and thus requiring a rebuttal:

Oh please. Another example of the THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS! FOR MCCAIN!!! type thinking.

It is illogical to assume that the Obama must have seen the McCain/Britney ad as effective for them to run this. Please, Eric, think it through a little more before adding some off-the-cuff information-free analysis.

Well, it's about time the Obama campaign got this ad out there. They should have been responding with humor, derision and mocking for some time now.

Instead, we've seen responses like Kerry's to the Swift Boat ads. Near silence.

Next, let's hit back on the "elitist" charge. 9 homes, $500 shoes, out of touch with working people. Did I mention $500 shoes?

According to the HuffPo they next McCain attack is going to be directed at Obama's education. His private schooling in Hawaii, Columbia and Harvard magna cum laude etc.

As ridiculous as this sounds, expect it to resonate with the GOP base. Bush brags about being a C-student and McCain relishes the fact he finished 5th from the bottom of his class. I guess it makes the base feel better about themselves.

Washington's Biggest Celebrity

THAT's the Chicago Way

Perfect ad. Those who would say otherwise are probably on the payroll of one of those outfits that pay people to muddy up the comments.

Good job. Ballsiness is next to Godliness with most voters these days. Obama just showed that he isn't gonna let them piss on his leg while trying to convince him it's raining.

Enjoy.

A reader on HuffPost (PhDiva) points this opinion on this Obama ad. I agree with it, so I post it to share it with you:

1. Obama cannot win the celebrity debate. He's just too popular. What he can do is neutralize it. That's what this ad does. It basically says: "Fine, were both celebrities. It's a draw." If they are both celebrities, the effect of the argument is neutralized.

2. It makes McCain look like a hypocrite.

3. It compares to forms of popularity. Obama is basically saying: "McCain is popular with Washington, Obama is popular with you!"

4. It shows that Obama is willing to fight back. If voters see him accepting McCain's attacks passively, we will be discouraged. He needs to show that he is a fighter, that he is more willing to stand his ground than Gore and Kerry were. The voter morale value is great.

5. I also think the ad is deliberately a little cheesy. Obama is trying to show that he's not slick. This ad is about showing that McCain is slick.

New DNC ad attacking McCain on Jobs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYLZ9NUMRNA

The script:

TEXT: Times Are Tough For Americans... American Jobs Are Threatened... John McCain And The Lobbyists Who Run His Campaign Have Helped Send American Jobs Overseas... 8,000 DHL Jobs In Ohio Are Threatened Because Of McCain and His Campaign Manager

GRAPHIC: Cleveland Plain Dealer Headline: McCain had role in original Wilmington DHL deal, August 5, 2008

QUESTION: "My question is, how do you intend to keep American businesses in America and to make America more self sufficient?"

MCCAIN: "I'm not going to keep them all in America." [CNN Live Feed (New Orleans, LA), 4/24/2008]

TEXT: 14,000 American Jobs Are At Stake Because of John McCain and His Lobbyist Advisors

MCCAIN: "I'm not going to keep them all in America." [CNN Live Feed (New Orleans, LA), 4/24/2008]

TEXT: John McCain The Wrong Choice On Jobs

As per Michael Feldman on "What Do You Know" (WiscPublicRadio and NPR saturdays)

John McCain got the reports back that the spot on his face was benign....
it's just the rest of him that is malignant.

Why are these ads not released on Youtube? I like seeing how many views they get.

I wish they could have used his cameos in movies and other non-talk show venues to really drive the point home. That he goes on talk-shows is not the best way to nail McShame, B H O has done that as well. The sheer volume of McShame's Schmoozing and his entree into Hollywood (Wedding Crashers, etc) should be front and center.

Oh, and the fact that he cheated on his wife with multiple women, the wife who raised his kids and endured his captivity and when she had a disfiguring accident he ditched her. Also his kid just slunk away from managing a bank that is being seized by the Feds.

Exactly what's wrong with the ad. It starts to take on the celebrity issue, then switches to taxes, then gets into the "same old, same old" meme. It's not a very focused ad.

I do not think this is a particularly smart ad.

Who among the McSame base--and most of Mid-Dull Murka, for that matter--wouldn't want the same sort of celebrity McSame enjoys? Leno? Letterman? Stewart? The lumper-proles would KILL for that kind of recognition. It's "personal" celebrity. Obama's 'celebrity' is not personal; it's charismatic, but undifferentiated.

Agreed: not a good add.

The McCain attacks are shifting slightly, they're not attacking Obama directly. While they're casting doubt on Obama as a legitimate candidate by portraying him as just a passing fad, they're now doing that by attacking Obama supporters (see the latest McCain add). By making Obama supporters appear to be a bunch of brainless, shallow, hero-worshiping groupies, the implicit unasked question is: "you're not that stupid, are you?"

So, Obama will need to do a number of things:

• Make commercials with adds featuring down-to-earth, smart Obama supporters - people who viewers can identify with - talking about why they support Obama.
• Don't follow the Rove/MCain team into the celebrity battle; it isn't about celebrity, it's about exploiting an identified weakness in people's perceptions of OBAMA, and the 'celebrity' meme is simply a tool. That same tool will not work on McCain, because he doesn't have the same perceived weaknesses as Obama. 'Celebrity' is the Phillip's-head screwdriver that fits Obama. Obama's team needs to find the tool that works on McCain, be it a flat-head screwdriver, a hammer - whatever it is.
• Stay on message. Continue to make Obama appear presidential. Counter the McCain adds by DEMONSTRATING the kind of presidential gravitas people expect, and by showing that Obama knows his stuff, that he's ready to lead.
• Stick with the change theme - but clarify and deepen it. Identify, specifically, how an Obama administration will be different than Bush's, and then contrast that by highlighting the areas where MCain is the same as Bush.
• Keep the HOPE alive. Focus in the issues that people care about. Keep inspiring people. Be positive, not negative. Lead.