i cant believe they are going to spend that much advertising on an ad thats completely ineffective.

New Disgusting McCain Ad, “The One”
http://sensico.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/new-disgusting-mccain-ad-the-one/

We can laugh, but they must think they're having an impact in terms of branding Obama as an empty suit.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: we laugh and mock, but they're not all idiots over there. They wouldn't be doing this unless they thought it work as part of a long-term strategy.

http://strategy08.wordpress.com

The question is, will the voters in these states see the racism/race card that Team Obama has been hootin and hollerin about?

Or will they see it as for what it is, an attempt at comparing Obama’s empty celebrity to that of Britney and Paris.

It remains to be see how effective Obama's Racial Wambulance will be at countering the GOPs empty celebrity/suit framing of Obama. Time will tell

Again, the DNC needs to learn to fight back. They cannot truly believe the voters in this country are smart and above all of this, they aren't. That is how we got Bush.

How about ads 24 Hours a day with McCain and Keating? The Keating 5?

The RNC is so damn good at making folks not want to vote, will this happen again?

They've obviously tested this, so it must be working with someone. Is Obama's response ad going up in the same places, do we know?

They'd better spend the other two-thirds of the advertising funds before McCain's next trip to Vegas.

Rick Davis does kind of resemble Rick Moranis. And with this new campaign strategy, it's going to be "Honey I shrunk the candidate", all the way!

...If it's working, where are the indicators? I'm confused why they would be spending so much money on an ad that hasn't proven to be anything except a shit storm. The only thing this shows to me is that McCain & Co. really are that proud of the ad. How pathetic.

It's worth noting that Britney and Paris were both born in 1981, making them actually older than the 26-year-old drug-addled bimbo McCain had an affair with to end the marriage to his crippled first wife.
But McCain was a celebrity in those days.

I can't take it any more! We are being bitchslapped and it's working!.

The one thing the Republicans now how to do is make you hate someone. They take a trait that is slightly objectionable and then magnify it to the Nth degree. Gore = serial exaggerator. Kerry = French effete snob. Obama = self-involved celebutttante.

Obama, if you can hear us, please run a series of devastating ads against McCain. Hit him on his alleged honor.
Ad 1: Tagline "McCain was for being honorable before he was against it."
Ad 2: Tagline: "McCain once said that he opposed Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy as a matter of conscience. But McCain mortgaged his conscience to get the Republican nomination."
Ad 3: Tagline: "McCain's top economic advisor said that the problems Americans are facing are all in their head. [Clip of Gramm: It's a 'mental recession.'] This is the man McCain relied on for years to advise him on the economy? Who is really ready to lead?"

Keep em coming one after the other.

I'm beginning to have a bad feeling about how this campaign is playing out.

The Obama camp has been late in defining McCain, they are on the defensive now.

The McCain/Rove folks know the large amount of subtle, "just under the surface" racists there are in America, and they know how to "dog whistle" them.

Todays polls show a tightening race. I expect to see McCain starting to take leads in a few polls in the next 4-5 days.

and another thing, Robert Gibbs is a joke.

51,000 jobs lost last month and citing 460,000 jobs lost over the last seven months.

The ad is very effective because it reinforces people's doubts about Obama.

The ad argues that Obama is a puffed up celebrity, like Britney and Paris, with no accomplishment, famous for being famous.

It is drawing a contrast between celebrity and leader, The One as celebrity and John McCain as leader.

Obama: ‘If They Bring a Knife to the Fight, We Bring a Gun’ --June 14, 2008

"..Obama made the comment in the context of warning donors that the general election campaign against McCain could get ugly. “They’re going to try to scare people. They’re going to try to say that ‘that Obama is a scary guy,’” he said."

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/06/14/obama-if-they-bring-a-knife-to-the-fight-we-bring-a-gun/trackback

McCain's brought the knife. Now I'd like to see the gun. Obama doesn't need to fight this out in the gutter, but if McCain is spending a lot on ad buys in key states, Obama DOES need to go on the offensive.

Its not too hard to counter this and Obama is doing it on the stump but needs ads to this effect (I leave it to better wordsmiths as to actual language):

John McCain is out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans. He thinks Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton are the most important topics facing our nation. Barack Obama knows you are worried about the high price of gas, fueld by an oil industry pouring money into John McCain's campaign. Barack Obama knows you want good health care insurance, an economy which creates jobs, the ability to keep your home, to bring our brave troops serving overseas home, with honor, and the importance of educating and training our children for the jobs of tomorrow, today. John McCain knows the old and tired ways of a 30 year Washington insider. Barack Obama knows what you are worried about in your everyday lives.

I've seen both the britney ad and the "one" ad. I think they stand out as hack ads by hack neocons.

sorry, I don't buy this whole beware of the power of the Rove attack machine.

Let's not forget, it didn't win George Bush the election in 2000. George Bush was appointed by the supreme court. Voter fraud in Florida has been proven. George Bush didn't even win in 2004. Again, voter fraud, mainly in Ohio. And in 2006, Rove's strategy was a losing one.

I honestly believe the neocon ship has sunk.

JFK won despite all the negative religious attacks on him at the time.

I think if you have a so so candidate, perhaps one that the party isn't really that enthused about, Kerry for example, then negative ads have more impact.

But I think when you have a great candidate, and a corrupt political party runs negative ads, the ads boomerang.

I think we should take the McCain camp seriously. I think Barack and the democratic party should defend itself. You might not see a barrage of low-road attack ads coming from democrats, but I don't think you have to take the low road against a candidate like McCain. Hit him on the issues. Hit him hard on the issues. And hit him hard on the issues.

I do wish Obama would be more forthright on issues like energy, because that's the issue the neocons, ironically, are pushing with drilling for more oil.

Every country has made progress with renewable energy--a lot more progress than our own country--democrats are the party of innovation. We are at our best when we're in the race to discover and lead, as we did with the trip to the moon. As we have with pushing the boundaries of medicine, alternative energy, and all the sciences.

The Republicans stifle innovation. Like research into Stem cells, a commitment to future energy resources. "Let's keep drilling like we did in the 20th century. Let's not waste money on education and research and discovery." The Republicans don't look to the future. They stick to the past, and that's why we have so many problems in the present.

They are, in essence, holding America back from what has made
America so successful.

We can lead if they get out of the way. And when we lead, Americans feel patriotic about something other than war.

What you guys fail to realize is that this is McCain's pre-emptive strike against Obama's nomination acceptance speech at Invesco. They are going to paint him as an empty suit celebrity all month long, using the adoring crowds against him so that the narrative is all set up before the big day on August 28th.

Before the speech in front of that crowd of 75,000, the media will have spent plenty of time asking if it will backfire, if it will reinforce the idea that Obama is indeed a celebrity without accomplishment.

It's a brilliant move if you ask me.

Whether you prefer the "this is a marathon, not a sprint analogy" or the boxing analogy of "playing possum" while your opponent "punches himself out", the point is that these are now the dog days of August and there ain't a lot happening anywhere. By the time the conventions role around, the narative is much easier to control and all this is is fodder for showing how desperate these folks really are. If McCain continues to lose the MSM, as he may be starting to do, it's over, game, set and match. Plus, the "Barr" factor has not yet surfaced nor the Ron Paul brigade. . .of course the NOIQ crowd may finally come out with the "whitey tape" and then we're all screwed. . . NOT.

McCain is spending while he can. He does want to frame Obama as an empty suit so voters don't have to listen to him.

But he is going to have a problem.

Obama has plenty of money to get his message out; and he has a couple simple messages that can win.

All he has to do is show the american people he cares and he is capable of being president. That is why McCain is trying to portray his as elitist to show he doesn't care and as an empty suit to show he is not capable of being president.

I'm thinking that Mr. McCain likes being able to peek at Spears and Hilton.

campaign member: Hey, Sen. McCain, what are you watching?

mccain: Oh, I'm just looking at our ad again.

Campaign member: Are you okay, Senator? You're breathing seems a bit heavy?

McCain: I'm fine. Just thinking about the surge. Get my drift?

Campaign member: I hope not.

This entire issue shows how bizarre political attakcs are. They have their own logic. That the party that idolizes Ronald Reagan and (for a while at least) Arnold Schwarzenegger attacks anyone for being a celebrity is odd enough. That people buy into it is even odder. The parallels aren't perfect, especially since Reagan and Schwarzenegger were actual celebrities prior to their political careers, but they are there. It's like people can only fit one thought in their head at a time and can't see the contradictions. The ad is effective on at least one leve -- we are talking about it and not actionable agendas and issues.

I just hope the two gals sue McCain's group for millions.. for unauthorized use of their photos... and names...

From Carl Bernstein's hagiography, "John McCain: Nothing Left to Fear." Vanity Fair, 1999.

"That night, after a cocktail party for him in Connie Stevens's backyard, McCain attends Milton Berle's 90th-birthday celebration at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where two rope lines hold back 200 or so photographers and reporters...and then they [paparazzi] spot McCain. Suddenly he is engulfed: microphones and cassette recorders are shoved in his face; inane questions are shouted at him. It takes him fully 10 minutes to walk 15 yards. Only Bob Hope-ailing and frail-gets as much attention."

http://www.carlbernstein.com/magazine_mccain.php

Oh, please, someone find video of celebrity McCain in Beverly Hills with fellow celebrities Milton Berle, Bob Hope, etc.

The Britney Spears/Paris Hilton ad by McCain is similar to the ads used against Senatorial candidate Harold Ford in Tennessee. These ads send out the same subliminal message: "Hey, white men, this Black guy is after your white women." This theme plays to the raw fear that many white men have - that Black men have more sexual prowess than they do. Why else, among all other "celebrities" in America to choose from, would the ad pick 2 white, blonde women. You can bet it was test driven through a focus group of middle-aged white men.

Finally, I agree with one of the early posters. Let's stop whining about these ads and hit back. Ads that distort facts, play on fears, and misrepresent issues are effective in America political campaigns because the American electorate is ignorant and apathetic. Let's recognize that fact and make the same use of it as the Republicans; otherwise once more we will be giving high sounding concession speeches in November.

Has anyone bothered to look at the new McCain ad?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/01/new-mccain-ad-compares-ob_n_116414.html

The McCain camp is running this ad about every half hour on every MSM channel (I don't get any cable channels except c-span) in Colorado.

Seems pretty desperate to me plus he is apparantly trying to spend all his primary money in swingstates, while he can.

Leave Britney out of this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWSjUe0FyxQ&feature=related

People scrape their hard-earned money together to contribute to Sen McCain's campaign thinking they are helping him win the GE when in fact, they are contributing to ads for other contributors, so he "can have a little fun"!

If I had donated, I would ask for my money back!

Here's what a brief and effective response ad from Obama should be--"Obama is running to be the next President of the United States. McLame is running to be the next Editor of the National Enquirer."

There are a whole host of possibilities for negative ads against McCain, and all on substance. But that would be the best response to this crappy McLame ad.

Obama and Moses? NOT FUNNY. McShame is dragging himself not the presidential. campaign into the gutter. And why would someone spend a third of their campaign resources on non-substantive ads?

*** I will say this, Obama needs to hit McCain below the belt and hit him hard.

I'm sorry, folks, but it IS working. Obama was up 49-40 last Sunday in Gallup, and he's been losing a point a day since McCain began the troop-visit lie. The polls are tighter now than they were BEFORE Obama went to Europe. It's clearly working. No Chicken Little or panic here, but we have got a real fight on our hands. (Note the new SurveyUSA poll of Missouri which shows McCain now up 5.) As I wrote to Josh earlier, the "desperation" headline is wildly inaccurate. They're not desperate, they're rabid, because they think they've finally found a successful line of attack. I think Obama is a strong enough candidate to overcome it, but his campaign better fight back and not sit back on its heels for one moment. They need to seize the media narrative and shape the message, instead of congratulating themselves on how smartly they're defending themselves.

Jenn of Ark, is that a real Obama ad, or a suggested one?

What's truly ironic here is that Britney would make a better president than John McCain.

Random thoughts on how one might forcefully respond to McCain's childish rants against Obama. I understand that BO is not going to take this stand at this time but can't someone, some surrogate willing to take one for the team, raise these valid points?

Keating 5 - how many senior citizens lost their entire life savings, pensions, etc. due to the criminal failure of the S&L which McCain abetted? There must be some retirees left in a nursing home somewhere who would go on record to scold John. McCain won't have to worry as his wife is rich.

Vicky Iseman - where is this mysterious lobbyist? There's gold in a potential interview with the alleged "other woman" in McCain's life. McCain was a total brat, BMOC when he was a fly boy. An obnoxious alpha male who got through the service academy (barely) because of his father. He was noted to be a lady's man. He and Vicky have some history - it's there and needs to be dug up.

He's OLD - he can't remember shit and he is a very dangerous person to have in charge. Unfortunately he looks like a bumbling old grandfather who people respect. At least he's not (black).

War record - sore spot. McCain and his camp had a 5 alarm hissy fit when General Clark made his comment about how being shot down and captured does not qualify someone to be president, which was a true comment. If you highlight the lack of heroism in his military career McCain will go into full swoon mode.

His lobbyist posse - if McCain is elected, he will not run the country, the suits in the back room will run it, make policy and send John out to make speeches that they write. There must be video and photos of some of the key McCain staff/lobbyists with despicable people and unsavory world leaders. A nice montage of these will put the focus on the cockroaches in his campaign.

I get so pissed off by McCain's attitude, his voice, my friends, and his inability (unwillingness) to admit an error in anything he does. He is a bad man who will screw this country up if elected.

I think the warm milk is kicking in now. But someone should do some digging around and nail McCain with his own stupid, disgusting, immoral past. It's right there.

If I was Cindy McCain, I would be worried about this ad featuring Paris Hilton and Britney. After all, McCain has a habit of dumping his older wife for younger, rich blondes.

Gee, I wonder why, if you have a black man running for high public office — say, Barack Obama or Harold Ford — the opposition feels compelled to run low-life political ads featuring tacky, sexually provocative white women who have no connection whatsoever to the black male candidates.

Spare me any more drivel about the high-mindedness of John McCain. You knew something was up back in March when, in his first ad of the general campaign, Mr. McCain had himself touted as “the American president Americans have been waiting for.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/02/opinion/02herbert.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=opinion&adxnnlx=1217678717-J/IWf4N0MknJ12aa+4IHSQ

Agreed. It is difficult to empirically determine cause and effect in an environment with a number of factors plus "noise" all acting at once. Often we can only get a sense of what really happened by looking back after the event.

GREAT AD by McCain!!!!

Tell the world about Barry the empty suit, friend of anti-American Rev. Wright. Barry... Berlin is not in the US. Americans vote for PONTUS not the sorry losers here, KoS and Huff(Obama)Post. These losers can go hug a tree (in CA don't get burned). Drilling now! Barry Hussein Obama = white guilt...I have none.

The McCain camp has been reeling since Bobby Jindal turned down the VP slot.

McSame / McSameVP ‘08

Why is Senator McCain putting massive dollars into "fear the celebrity"??? Because his handlers are convinced it plays to the heart of the American voter. I worry he may be right. Large clumps of voters seem only too eager to cling to any "reason" to oppose Senator Obama. It saves them from having to cite his "only half white" status as the deciding factor.

The resurrection of John McCain, complete with reworked history and full-throated support of the same people who breathed a sigh of relief at his political demise in 2000, says a lot about the political will. Very little of is good, but there is a lot of it.

We can all look back with nostalgia to Senator McCain's promise of a civil campaign, complete with use of honorifics. How long did it take for him to start referring to Senator Obama as "young man" and throwing an industrial-strength sneer into just about every statement? About as long as it took for the McCain camp to recover from the shock that (a) they actually had a viable candidate, and (b)they were going to have to run against the easily-beatable Clintons.

The only political cliche of recent months I find truly depressing is the oft-repeated description of Senator McCain as the President we deserve. It may be true, but I'd like to think we could do better.

Could we suggest that this ad merely shows that John McCain is an old lecher with a hangup about young blondes???

Many of you are missing the point. this ad shows Obama between two hot white chicks. Racists unconsciously see that as an attack on their daughters. This is the kind of ad that defeated Harold Ford with the "call me" ad. The supposed "inexperience" message masks a much more disturbing racist message. That's why Obama responded with his "I may not look like the other presidents on the dollar bill" remark, which the GOP then tried to make into Obama's race card speech. But, THIS AD is the race card, loud and clear.

Unfortunately, the ad must be effective or they wouldn't be running it.

I think Obama needs to slamming McCain big time right now; e.g.:

----

I'm Barack Obama and this is my home in Chicago.

This is my opponents home, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, (ohh... and this is his wife's jet he used for campaign trips), and this one, and this one, and... McCain - its clear why he wants to both extend and expand tax cuts for the rich; and while the nation is still at War and running record deficits.

----

McCain getting confused regarding the differences between Shite and Sunnis, and having to be corrected by Senator Lieberman before getting it strait. This followed by one or two other instances where he is again confused over the same distinction.

Its important to our national security that our next President knows these facts, and shouldn't be confused by them over and over again.

----

etc.

By the way, anyone else notice that Obama's lead started slipping when he started attacking the progressive base and caved on telecom immunity?
I sure did.

McCain has two things in common with Britney and Paris ... no, three things:
Rich
White
Prone to action without thought

As dumb as this ad is, it might actually work for some people. As H.L. Mencken said, "no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of American people", etc.

Regardless, the Obama campaign needs to focus all of it's energies on figuring out ways to combat this sort of ad, especially since Karl Rove is hunched over his key board churning out more of these gems.

Something smart and funny. Or he could also do something along the lines of "The American people are fed up with politicians who don't take them seriously enough to talk about the issues."

Whatevah, the worst mistake Obama can make, is to assume that reason will trump unthinking reaction.