I assume this won't be in heavy rotation on the local R&B station....

Smart. Very Smart.

When you consider this ad to the fact that a WV miner's union protested by skipping work today (in response to the owners allowing the NRA onto their worksite to try and get some disparaging comments regarding Obama from the workers AFTER the union has already endorsed him), maybe the MSM is wrong about the broad support Obama has. We cannot get complacent, but folks, we might be heading for a landslide.

"Obama will cut taxes for everyday folks, not big bidness"!!!

I love it!

I have followed this election closely. This is my first comment to a blog this cycle. I'm struck by two things by this radio ad. First, Ralph Stanley is a legend and any candidate would be honored with his endorsement. Second, the fact that the Obama campaign understands the stature of Ralph Stanley in our world and certainly in SW Virginia specifically and solicited this ad encourages me tremendously that the campaign is on the right track towards winning this election. The importance of this ad exceeds Obama's current favorable poll status because polls go up and down but good decisions about the campaign can be made everyday. This is a good decision.

This made my day. Wow.

I wonder if Mr. Stanley will get the Dixie Chicks/Toby Keith treatment...

Here's to hoping that this ad will help Barack win Virginia, leading to us no longer being the country of constant sorrow.

That was pretty awesome. That's the kind of cool, collected voice that connects with the people this ad is targeting. Not to mention the accent. This has got to be one of the best radio ads I've heard all year, if not the very best.

I'm having trouble downloading the ad or finding a direct link. Any help?

Fun Fact: Ralph Stanley did the singing voice of the Klan Grand Wizard in "O Brother Where Art Thou" -- that eerie rendition of "O Death" is him. This endorsement has a particular beauty to it.

I'm laughing and laughing - I love this spot and I think it's brilliant. But I was just reading last night about Jigga making a big appearance for Barack, who is one of his biggest fans. (he has good taste in music, too.)

YES!! DR. RALPH! YES! And targeted to VA. My god. That is probably the smartest political ad I've ever heard, and I'm not exaggerating.

I'm with a band that has opened for Ralph on several occasions, and that man has soul.

Ralph Stanley: I am a man of constant sorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBDe7rySveQ&feature=related

This is huge. This could be a game changer, and not only for this year. It could be a step toward making middle-class southerners Democrats again.

For those who don't remember how it used to be, here is a lyric from Alabama's "Song of the South":

Daddy was a veteran, a southern democrat
They oughta get a rich man to vote like that.

This election is shrinking the country. We now all feel the pain of people in Alaska (thank you, mudflats!). We feel solidarity with the coal miners. And the people of West Virginia - through this musician.

I can feel us coming together. Through the rallies. Through the videos. The songs. This is a beautiful moment.

Just how absolutely cool is that? And Ralph is a legend in that part of the country, that will carry some serious weight.

If Obama wins, I'd love to see Ralph sing in association with the inaugural celebration.

Nice, but McGoo will lock up the Swedish vote when ABBA does their commercial for him.

Ralph Stanley is more than just a great musician. His voice is to bluegrass what Muddy Waters' was to blues - the very archetype of the style.

That is one great radio ad. Ralph Stanley's voice carries some weight in those parts.

If Obama is playing offense in "Macaca land", he's moving in for the kill in Virginia.

It's getting difficult to resist the temptation to celebrate.

before, through turbulent times at the start of Sept., the Obama machine was steady, unfazed.

now, with the wind at its back, this campaign is hitting all the notes.

to echo some previous posts, I think good decisions and execution like this ad are more encouraging signs than daily tracking polls.

I fully believe this campaign is headed to victory on election day.

Long time TPM reader, first time poster.

The song in the background, btw, is called "Rank Stranger". Likely to be familiar to some of the local radio audience.

I wandered again to my home in the mountains
Where in youth's early dawn I was happy and free
I looked for my friends, but I never could find them
I found they were all rank strangers to me
Everybody I met (everybody I met)
Seemed to be a rank stranger (seemed to be a rank stranger)
No mother nor dad (no mother or dad)
Not a friend could I see (not a friend could I see)
They knew not my name (they knew not my name)
And I knew not their faces (and I knew not their faces)
I found they were all (I found they were all)
Rank strangers to me (rank strangers to me)
They've all moved away, said the voice of a stranger
To a beautiful land by the bright crystal sea
Some beautiful day I'll meet 'em in heaven
Where no one will be a stranger to me
Everybody I met (everybody I met)
Seemed to be a rank stranger (seemed to be a rank stranger)
No mother nor dad (no mother or dad)
Not a friend could I see (not a friend could I see)
They knew not my name (they knew not my name)
And I knew not their faces (and I knew not their faces)
I found they were all (I found they were all)
Rank strangers to me (rank strangers to me)

As a longtime fan of old-timey and bluegrass music, and a lefty musicians who occasionally feels conflicted by the knowledge that that many of the artists and fans of this music have radically different worldviews and political positions, positions that range from ignorant loyalty to the GOP to a disturbing history and continuing legacy of sexism and racism, this radio ad just blows my mind.

I think this is marks an incredible moment and could be a VERY effective means to appeal to folks who might never consider voting for Obama. Let's just hope that he doesn't get treated like the Dixie Chicks did, and let's be vigilant in coming to his defense if he does. It took a lot of courage for him to do this and he deserves support.

Killer ad. I'm looking even more forward to seeing Ralph this weekend in San Francisco:

Wow, great ad. I do not listen to commercial radio so I will never know if it is in rotation here in Missouri, but I certainly hope it is.

I play in a bluegrass band here in Central Pennsylvania and I'm going to send this link to every picker I know. This ad would work great around here....just about everybody in the region has at least some exposure to bluegrass and the Stanley Bros. and to hear a good old boy like that tell it straight could really sway some of the undecided folks.

Intrade:

Barack is at 66.9.

mcShame - 33.

So we're at a bit over 2 to 1 for Barack!!!! yay!!

One of the most powerful campaign ads I've ever heard or seen. And this is in Kentucky? Wow.

As a music guy, I assure you that this is an endorsement that could have real impact, not just in VA, but in WV, KY, and TN (he's one of the true fathers of bluegrass, which is sacred American music in the SE...as Subliminability said, a God!). I always did love him....now, I really love him!

Interesting. Stanley backed Edwards earlier this year:

http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/27030-dr-ralph-stanley-john-edwards-back-home-tour

I like the ad but Ralph Stanley talked too much and too fast. If they took out a sentence or two, the ad would be much better.

Better than the dumb barn painting ad they were using earlier.

Just remember, though, Ralph endorsed John Kerry and John Edwards. And in the '70s, he lost twice running for local office.

Hi, my first post, too. I played this brilliant ad for my wife and she pointed out the song in the background was great choice, Ralph Stanley's own "Rank Stranger".

I wandered again to my home in the mountains
Where in youth's early dawn I was happy and free
I looked for my friends but I never could find them
I found they were all rank strangers to me

Everybody I met seemed to be a rank stranger
No mother or dad not a friend could I see
They knew not my name and I knew not their faces
I found they were all rank strangers to me.

Now they've all moved away said the voice of a stranger
To a beautiful home by a bright crystal sea
And some day I'll meet them all up in Heaven
Where no one will be a rank stranger to me.

Hey, I'm sending it around here in South Central Indiana - the first red state called for Bush in 2000 - and now competitive for Barack Obama in 2008.

This is the home of the Bill Monroe Memorial Music Park in Bean Blossom, Indiana, the home of the largest and most renowned bluegrass music festival in the world.

(I'm in a blues band and we just played the big Bean Blossom Blues Fest there in early September).

Ralph Stanley is a god to alla us musicians and I'm going to download and play this cut during a big get-out-the-vote rally (The Unconventional Tour) in Bloomington, IN, on October 23.

My heart was warmed and my spirit soared when I heard this news. I learned it the day I arrived in Big Stone Gap SWVA to serve the campaign.

Dr. Stanley is a legend in the hills of Southwest Virginia and his support is invaluable.

Strangely enough, I was wondering about his political persuasion on the drive down here. I'm sure it's because I grew up in Upper-East Tennessee on the Virginia line and I have always known about Ralph Stanley's own campaign for the presidency : )

Thank you Dr. Ralph.

Let's turn SWVA Blue!!!

..if there is any indication from the good people I've met so far, we have our chances.

When Dr. Stanley sings Oh Death the next time I hope he thinks of the Babies that he is helping to comdemn to death. With the new abortion laws the liberals will push thru when they control both houses and the Presidents office if Obama is elected. All abortions will paid for by the goverment, Minors will be allowed abortions with out parental consent, partial birth abortions will bacome the norm, and babies borned alive after botched abortions will be left to die without life saving procedures.

Spanky

thnks