New Republican National Committee Ad Hits Obama In Traditionally Red States
We reported here on Friday that the McCain camp and the Republicans were broadening their ad buy map to include Virginia and North Carolina, a sign that GOPers are worried about traditionally red territory and are being forced to fight on a wider electoral map than they'd hoped to.
Well, here's the Republican National Committee's new spot, which win run in 14 states, including red North Carolina and Virginia, both states where Obama is up on the air:
The ad -- another twist on the "celeb" theme -- states: "Take away the crowds, the chant -- all that's left are costly words." And it seeks to link Obama to Congressional Dems, whose approval rating in some polls is -- ahem -- even lower than Dick Cheney's.
It's the latest installment in the GOP's effort to convince people that enthusiasm for Obama has nothing whatsoever to do with his actual leadership qualities, policy positions or promised agenda as president. But the mere fact that it's airing in Virginia North Carolina constitutes an admission of weakness.
Separately, I'm told that McCain, too, is spending heavily on advertising in Virginia.
Well, the RNC convinced me. I don't know what I was thinking...
September 2, 2008 2:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
This ad is so stupid. Like folks are really gonna be scared of Byron Dorgan when they don't even know who he is. Lame.
September 2, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's back to the celebrity well. The experience meme won't work anymore.
Does Joe Sixpack even know who Harry Reid is?
http://thepajamapundit.com/
September 2, 2008 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where is Nancy Pelosi in this ad???
She is the Speaker of the House after all! If the GOP really wants to run against Dems in Congress, she should clearly be included since she's the most powerful member of the House. Nor is Sen. Hillary Clinton pictured! Does the GOP not take female Democrats in Congress seriously?
The GOP obviously left Pelosi out in favor of a bunch of "old white guys" solely b/c it would run counter to their weird wooing of female voters.
Also, Greg, Congressional Dems don't have as low of ratings as "Congress" as a whole does.
Everyone says they disapprove of Congress when it's deadlocked, but many more people approve of their own representative.
September 2, 2008 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Greg, you've got <a href> tag overrun. Clicking on the video doesn't make it play, it just takes you to the Ben Smith link.
September 2, 2008 2:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the fix.
September 2, 2008 2:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Take away the polished speeches, the ground game, the fundraising, and what do you have left?
John McCain.
September 2, 2008 2:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not quite, you'd also have to take away the much better policy positions, the issue statements longer than three sentences, and add a liberal dose of lobbyists, anger management problems and misogyny.
September 2, 2008 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOLOLOLOL!!!
Excellent comment!
September 2, 2008 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
I heard this morning on the news that people within the Republican party are describing Palin as a "rock star". Does this mean we can officially get rid of the celebrity meme?
September 2, 2008 2:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Heh, well, she's definitely overshadowed Obama as a celebrity.
September 2, 2008 3:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm just tickled that after endlessly running stupid ads with Britney Spears, the McCain campaign has managed to pick someone whose family life would draw the same kind of coverage as Britney Spears.
September 2, 2008 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
"New RNC ad ties Obama to Senate Democrats" is the caption from Politico. Harry Reid and so on, stuff must be bad for the RNC.
September 2, 2008 2:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Totally agree. Most people who see that will just ask what the hell is a Harry Reid? We're entering meltdown territory. Playing defense in red state on convention week... uh oh.
http://pufferfish.typepad.com/
September 2, 2008 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
It strikes me that the empty celeb idea is going to be a much harder sell since millions of people watched Obama's acceptance speech.
:)
September 2, 2008 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Do people really know the faces of Kent Conrad and Pat Leahy?
Well, maybe the latter, he did have a cameo in "The Dark Knight."
http://strategy08.wordpress.com
September 2, 2008 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
September 2, 2008 2:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Take away the millions of Americans who support his candidacy ...
How?
September 2, 2008 2:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
"No balanced budget"????
Who submits the budget to Congress? Bush.
Who refuses to include spending for Iraq in the budget? Bush + Repubs.
Who refuses to impose a "war profits" tax, windfall profits tax, or any other revenue-gatherer to help fund the cost of the war and reduce the deficit? Bush + Repubs.
September 2, 2008 2:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did you see the huge dogwhistle to the fundamentalist base? With the implicit "anti-christ" imagery, and the crowd disappearing as if they were raptured?
September 2, 2008 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
The republicans forget at their peril that their obstructionism and W's Veto are largely responsible for those record low approval ratings.
September 2, 2008 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Speaking of VA and NC, I hope to see polls of these two states soon. My guess is if a poll has been conducted in NC over the last few days or is in the field now, Obama will actually end up leading there.
September 2, 2008 2:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
So now it turns out that Ms. Spunky Reformer Klondike Barbie has ties to Jack Abramoff.
Next up - Tom Delay is really Trig's dad.
September 2, 2008 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Take away the crowds, the chant -- all that's left are costly words."
pfffft
Take away the crowds, and you no longer have democracy, which, of course, is the whole point.
September 2, 2008 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Their convention is the biggest flop in RNC history, so they need to advertise aggressively to compensate.
Interesting how the ad is much too partisan to be aimed at independents. They are still struggling with their base.
September 2, 2008 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Astute point you have there.
September 2, 2008 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you, Tena. This is not at all convention week messaging which should instead be blasting the airwaves with imagery of their wonderful game-changing veep choice. Instead, they have gone negative with dark apocalyptic imagery.
This ad is interesting because of that and whom it is not depicting given the occasion.
September 2, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
I thought the same thing. They're not changing any minds with that shit.
September 2, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hilarious! If Hillary Clinton were the nominee, she'd appear in every single attack ad. But since women are so gosh darn stupid that they'll vote for any woman, McCain isn't going to include any Hillary Clinton images.
This really is like a Saturday Night Live skit.
One that's gone on just a little too long.
September 2, 2008 3:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lame.
September 2, 2008 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Another point the ad overlooks is that Republicans controlled the purse strings from 1994 until 2006 and 2000-2006, they controlled everything. So they own those years of deficit and debt.
September 2, 2008 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
You know, I'm glad that all our presidents got elected without chanting crowds.
If you hear anyone chanting at the RNC, point it out! We need to notify them and get those cultists dragged out of the hall!
September 2, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOL!
Democrats: Always Respectfully Silent.
September 2, 2008 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
"McCain based his important first decision based on one face to face meeting. Even as a Republican, I have real problems with this." -- Michael Smirconish, talk radio host, Philidelphia PA
There will be no need to get into babies and such.
September 2, 2008 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, that's my cousin...and based on his various MSNBC appearances, he's practically begging for a reason to vote for Obama. He's been saying a lot of good things about Barack.
September 2, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Perhaps we should be tying John McCain to James Inhofe and Mitch McConnell.
September 2, 2008 3:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
One Democrats curiously missing from the scary democrat ad: Hillary
September 2, 2008 4:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
One Democrats curiously missing from the scary democrat ad: Hillary
September 2, 2008 4:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
i'm in virginia and i just saw a new obama ad (at least, new to me, but i don't really watch networks anymore) during oprah (yeah, i said it!).
it's a negative spot -- all different pics of mccain with bush talking about "same lack of understanding of the economy, same desire to spend $10 billion/mo. in iraq," etc. it ends with video of mccain trumpeting the fact that he's voted with bush 90% of the time, "more than any other republican congressman," in mccain's words.
pretty effective.
September 2, 2008 4:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's not negative, it's factual. It's only negative because it ties McCain to Bush, just like McCain did all by himself, and the mere thought of Bush inspires negative emotions.
September 2, 2008 11:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
i'm in virginia and i just saw a new obama ad (at least, new to me, but i don't really watch networks anymore) during oprah (yeah, i said it!).
it's a negative spot -- all different pics of mccain with bush talking about "same lack of understanding of the economy, same desire to spend $10 billion/mo. in iraq," etc. it ends with video of mccain trumpeting the fact that he's voted with bush 90% of the time, "more than any other republican congressman," in mccain's words.
pretty effective.
September 2, 2008 4:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
oops, sorry.
(1) double post screw-up
(2) didn't read down the list of entries far enough to see that there's already an entry about the commercial.
September 2, 2008 5:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
If this is a new ad, why is Sara Palin's name absent from the final frame.
Inquiring voters demand to know.
September 2, 2008 11:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's always interesting to me that Republicans find their own weaknesses, and then aggressively launch attacks on their opponents claiming that their opponents have those weaknesses.
September 3, 2008 12:14 AM | Reply | Permalink