The McCain campaign is trying to sharpen their attack on Obama. Their most recent ad alleges he will raise taxes and increase our dependence on foreign oil. In fact, Obama has called for a tax cut for the middle class, and favors investment in alternative energy to decrease our dependence on oil imports.
This ad breaks several important rules in the Republican attack ad playbook and may be a fiasco in the making (if so, the second in as many weeks after the Applesauce Surge at this painfully awkward staged event in a supermarket). First, it makes very dubious assertions directly, where they can blowback as evidence of mean-spiritedness, and dishonesty born of desperation. The Obama campaign has jumped right on that opening with their new Low Road Express website. The new site joins Fight The Smears as punchy siblings to BarackObama.com. The score in websites, by my count, is now 3-1 Obama.
Second, it fumbles the delivery. The message relies on sarcasm, which is almost impossible to make clear in 30 seconds, let alone in a Presidential campaign. It also tries to pack three ideas into a single spot: (a) Obama is like Hilton and Spears, (b) he will raise taxes, and (c) he opposes new drilling and will therefore increase our dependence on foreign oil. That is two too many.
Worst of all Hilton, who apparently was not consulted about the ad, has now started to mine it herself for publicity:
Paris Hilton distanced herself Thursday from John McCain’s campaign commercial likening Barack Obama to the heiress and Britney Spears. “Miss Hilton was neither asked, nor did she give permission, for the use of her likeness in the ad, and has no further comment,” her rep said in a statement.
I can’t really imagine what a PR war between Paris Hilton and the McCain campaign would look like, but I know who the loser would be.
Somehow, this ad reminds me of the botched Kerry Healey/Mass GOP “you’ll be attacked in a parking garage if you vote for Patrick” campaign. Let’s see what happens.
Today is the last day to donate to the Obama campaign before the 31 July reporting period ends. A $5 donation enters you in a drawing for free tickets to Denver and a backstage meeting with Obama, you can also enter for free here. EaBo is worried this may be an illegal lottery and urges an immediate investigation. BMG is closing in on $8,000 raised for Obama via the National Anthem concert: help put us over the top.
eaboclipper says
the possibly illegal raffle.
bob-neer says
Just read here. Hope to see you there!
eaboclipper says
This doesn’t say if it is the same prize. I linked to that in my diary on RMG. It says join Barack in Denver. Is that the same as a Backstage pass. If there are two levels of prize than it is still possibly illegal. It should be investigated as to what is meant by that link.
jconway says
<
p>That sentence made my day-thats a war McCain supports I look forward too
huh says
The Hilton parents are (or were) McCain supporters :
<
p>Then there’s the small inconvenience that Paris’ parents, Rick and Kathleen Hilton, are supporters of McCain’s Republican presidential bid. According to federal campaign records, they gave the maximum $4,600.
<
p>No word on their plans for the general election, but this much is certain: Their daughter has never paid to attend an Obama campaign fundraiser. (It’s unclear whether she’s even met the senator, or whether she’s even registered to vote. The same goes for Spears.)
<
p>McCain’s latest attempt at discrediting his handsome, photogenic young rival particularly galls stars and executives with a memory, because only eight years ago, McCain was a fixture in Hollywood fundraising circles when he tried to raise money from the very people his ad now ridicules.
huh says
This Nation snippet captures the ethos perfectly.
<
p>If I were a right-wing blogger, and I found out that Barack Obama was wearing Ferragamo loafers that cost $520, I would spend about 50% of my waking hours making sure everyone knew this. I would mock him for being an out-of-touch elitist and make jokes like, “If you think that’s a lot, you should see how much his purse costs ” I would send the link to Drudge and wait for Instapundit to pick it up, and then watch gleefully as Fox News ran segments about how Barack Obama’s $500 loafers vitiate his entire economic platform.
<
p>But of course, I’m not a right-wing blogger. And the $520 shoes belong to John McCain. And frankly, I don’t think how much his shoes cost matters one whit for how he’d govern the country.
geo999 says
…get paid for such unimaginative tripe?
<
p>Or is this just the hobby of a semi-clever-pundit wannabe?
<
p>You always tread precarious ground when you start down the “if I wuz __, then I would __” road.
<
p>Unfortunately for Mr. Hayes’ credibility, his essay went directly down the flush – see’n as it wasn’t really clever, and it wasn’t really true.
huh says
He completely left out ad hominem attacks. When in doubt, smear, eh?
kbusch says
Backing up Hayes’ “tripe” is a fair bit of history.
<
p>There are multiple reasons as to why the $520 shoes won’t make it into the media with the insistence of Edwards’s haircut, Dowd’s made-up quote about Kerry and NASCAR, and various myths about Gore.
trickle-up says
the effect of an energy tax would be to decrease consumption, including (all else equal) foreign oil.
nomad943 says
“Obama has called for a tax cut for the middle class, and favors investment in alternative energy to decrease our dependence on oil imports”.
<
p>By “investment” in alternative energy he means a big fat subsidy for companies participating in unviable industries (alternative special interest) that will be paid for by … you guessed it, offering us excuses about why he will be forced to raise taxes instead of cut them and why you should thank him because its “for the children”.
Use Deval’s hijinx as your example of how campaign rhetoric varies from substance of policy..
This seems to be this years playbook.
I can not recall a presidential candidate, ever, that offers more bald a** lies as a campaign theme and then run away from any discusion of how any of it would be paid for.
Has anyone ever heard an Obama speach that wasn’t packed with a sundry list of gifts, item after item aimed just at you? Uh-huh! Chicken in every pot ….
<
p>Change you can believe in … yeah right.
<
p>
<
p>Imagine what the copper in this puppy would be worth in terms of devalued dollars after a few years of Obama’s politics of the future …
johnk says
Dubya has done a heckeva job, so why change?
nomad943 says
Your logic is: due to the results given us by one boob we should not bother to take a careful look at his potential boob replacement, and you dont want to take much of a look at the bag of gas being passed off as policy by the chosen one; it insults your inteligence.
Anyhow, he is the one, Oprah said so. So lets just go with it, right?
Hopefully Americans arent that stupid .. yet, or if not than the movie “ideocracy” was more prophetic than orignaly thought.
Long live the status quo.
johnk says
and compare them to Bush (or the boob as you put it) and let me know where they differ substantially.
kirth says
Have you just returned from a Congressional hearing?
I can recall lots of them. Starting with the current Republican candidate:
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/dis…
<
p>The list goes all the way back to Ronald McReagan:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wor…
<
p>Hope I’ve been of some assistance with your memory problem.
nomad943 says
Its not exactly easy to make a case for McNasty either. On the list of BS cadidates of all time he is likely in the top 5 BUT … at least his message (to my knowledge) isnt tailored for whatever individual audience he is speaking to at that particular moment.
Sorry but pre 2008 candidates do not hold a candle to our present crop of clunkers. While they may all have embeleshed to some degree (with increasing regularity as we move to the present) it seemed they at least made some effort to govern towards a point sort of near where they campaigned. This year is so obviously the year of “tell them what they want to hear”.
Hopefully, if there are debates and not just a scripted tribute to Tim Russert, someone will hold these asshats at least partialy accountable for the crap they spew.
kirth says
Is that like a win-win situation?
nomad943 says
Think of all the hours I wont be spending at some phone bank dialing people’s answering machines 🙂
kirth says
how I win the Lottery every time I don’t play.
nomad943 says
Bonus Tax For The Thinking Impaired … why people opt to get in that line is beyond me.
bob-neer says
You may not like the policies, but that wasn’t the point of my post.
<
p>The point was that the ad is telling porkies (i.e. lies), which is idiotic on the part of the McCain campaign, because it makes them look like idiots.
<
p>If they want to tell lies about Obama, they need to do it through a third-party with plausible deniability to be effective. This way, as I wrote, it just makes them look desperate and out of touch because it is so easy to refute.
<
p>Hmm, I think we may have hit on something in that last sentence.
nomad943 says
To many including myself, refusing to replace decling existing oil production by placing new production on line to replace it (ie .. drill it) is in fact INCREASING OUR DEPENDANCE ON FOREIGN OIL. No lie about it.
One can fantasize about all the marvelous gains that may or may not be acheived through massive subsidies (payola) but the fact remains that you will get up and start your car and you will come home later and turn on your heat and that will require energy, actual energy and not hoped for someday energy ..
And on the same note … whne someone tells us about how much they will increase spending for this that and everything on this side of the moon … it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that the funding will not grow on some new kind of tree. We are that tree so get ready for the harvest.
<
p>I dont see any LIES … sorry.
bob-neer says
“And on the same note …” That’s getting into your view of policies, and shifting the focus from the matter at issue here: whether McCain’s ad is telling the truth or not.
<
p>But, anyway, to your substantive point: drilling will not “lessen our dependence on foreign oil” because even the most optimistic projections only forecast that a tiny percentage of our demand will be filled by such drilling — and it will take a very long time to bring it on line. We will remain heavily dependent on foreign oil. In fact, probably more dependent insofar as our demand is projected to increase by more than any drilling might provide. If we had Saudi Arabia off the coast, you might have a good point, but we don’t.
<
p>The only way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil is to reduce our dependence on oil. That’s what Obama wants to do (McCain too, I suppose, in some general sense, although he doesn’t seem to have made specific steps to that end much of a priority).
<
p>I don’t mind at all when McCain or anyone else makes substantive attacks on Obama’s policies. These are important and complex issues that can be debated. But just to say that Obama will increase our dependence on foreign oil, when he won’t, and when in fact his whole energy policy is designed to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, is a bad argument, and a pitiful campaign position.
nomad943 says
Obama has no energy policy short crafty speaches designed to provide cover for passing around the payola to hungry contributors. There is no substanative difference between the Bush Doctrine’s ethanol boondoggle and the one spouted by Obama. Call it whatever you want, its just taking from Paul to give to Peter and in the end it produces exactly how many Kw? If an investment is viable than there is no shortage of investors or capital to bring it to market. If it is foolish … in steps Uncle Sam. Anyone up for a trip to Mars?
As for your assertion about “If we had Saudi Arabia off the coast, you might have a good point, but we don’t”.
Hmm …
You need to read more. Type in the keywords “Gull Island”.
Evidence is increasingly pointing to the likelyhood that the polar bear is lounging on reserves greater than the Saudis … but we save it for …? Oh yeah. Algore says we shouldnt burn any of it and he was awarded the nobel prize and all so we should heed his wishes. After all he was so right about Nafta being such a boom for the American worker, why should anyone doubt him now ….
huh says
A massive oil reserve kept hidden by an oil industry cabal led by British Petroleum? Single sourced by a Baptist minister
<
p>Wow. Just wow.
kirth says
How can you doubt evidence like this:
Everyone knows that members of the world’s power elite are constantly rubbing shoulders with Baptist missionaries! I think it has to do with pheromones or something.
kirth says
Elbows, not shoulders – of course!
stomv says
oil: big fat subsidies
nat gas: big fat subsidies
nuclear: big fat subsidies
coal: big fat subsidies
<
p>When the Dems have tried to gut those subsidies, the GOP has filibustered ’em in the Senate. So, if the GOP is going to keep the polluting subsidies, the only way to create a “fair fight” is to subsidize wind, solar, and the rest, no?
<
p>Personally, I think that Congress ought to extend the wind production credit for a five year period to signal to investors that they can look for longer projects. Then, I’d love to see Congress start to cut away the subsidies on oil and gas exploration and delivery. Then, I’d love to see a hike of the gas tax to help pay for all the bridges that need work. I’d also spend much more money on permanent public transit infrastructure ranging from rail track to bus stations. I’d also invest some of the subsidy savings on enforcement of coal mining regulations, ranging from safe extraction to properly protecting the West Virginian mountains. Then, I’d take the extra money left over and provide for a payroll tax cut on the low end, effectively tacking on a quick $600 “stimulation check” to their tax return.
<
p>But, I’m not Congress and POTUS, and that’s just as well.
<
p>PS: the cent coin is 39/40 zinc and only 1/40 copper, so that puppy’s copper contents won’t be worth much just about ever. But don’t let the facts get in the way.
nomad943 says
If you look at the imaged puppy you will see it is a classic 1966 (Jefferson Airplaine, Cream, Buffalo Springfield), which along with all pennies minted prior to 1983 is 95% copper in composition. Round ’em up while you still can.
As to your rant about good subsidies (as in comparison to bad subsidies) .. Is there realy a difference or is the saying that one “has no complaints as long as they are getting their cut” in order. All subsidies are the same, they serve the interest of one group at the expense of another.
The entire topic of subsidies and “free trade” need to be retooled IMO. Why is it that the government is sole decider of which industry propspers and which are thrown under the bus? It doesnt seem right that if I am considering creating a startup that my first concern would be to see if I have my politicians in order, that they would “support” me rather than put me in direct competition with the chinese (who are .. subsidised), a road to certain failure.
The free market only gets a bad name when no part of it operates freely … welcome to the 21st century, taking cronyism to ever higher peaks …
nomad943 says
http://www.rense.com/general82…
<
p>All whistleblowers are quacks and there is nothing suspicious about the functioning of our oil markets … Exxon earns 15 billion … GM loses 15 billion; and whoo-hoo, just when the futures markets were establishing a nice down trend these past few weeks, there goes another Israeli government official running his mouth and causing a newer bigger war premium that all the “usual suspect” fat hogs will be rushing in to feed on.
<
p>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/…
<
p>Newsflash!
50 years of seismic data doesnt lie. Oil is always where the preponderance of data says it is.
huh says
ALL and I mean ALL the articles on Gull Island cite the ravings of ONE guy. None of them cite seismic data, just a Baptist minister who claims to have seen seismic data.
<
p>I’m guessing the Illuminati must have suppressed the actual data.
nomad943 says
The release of his book triggered a general disemination of previously known but not properly connected dots ..
Do some research on outlying data and stop waiting for the AP or 60 minutes to do it for you.
<
p>http://www.elkodaily.com/artic…
huh says
Your latest article is just another collection of Lindsey Williams quotes.
nomad943 says
Another day … Another promise … This just in …
Obama promises $1000 energy rebate ..
<
p>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama
<
p>And now back to our previously schedualed program.
<
p>The last article I linked expands on the general premise that oil is being held off market by relating a number of other “major” finds that have dropped off of the radar after making initial splashes in the media …
You can look these finds up and the original press releases are still archived on the internet as most information post 1990 is.
Hmmm …
nomad943 says
And from a trusted news source to boot!
<
p>http://sirsatire.wordpress.com…
nomad943 says
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…
<
p>What a day in the life of Obamas energy policy. Off shore drilling and 1000$ worth of chickens in every pot to boot … Oooh …. no doubt, he is THE ONE
<
p>Geez. Wonder if you dress him up in an admirals suit if he will start humming the lines to some old beach boys song ..
kirth says
it says Obama shifts, says he may back offshore drilling
<
p>Jumped the gun a little there, Tex.
nomad943 says
snip….>
<
p>”Later, Obama issued a written statement warmly welcoming a proposal sent to Senate leaders Friday by 10 senators – five from each party. Their proposal seeks to break the impasse over offshore oil development and is expected to be examined more closely in September after Congress returns from its summer recess.
<
p>The so-called Gang of 10 plan would lift drilling bans in the eastern Gulf of Mexico within 50 miles of Florida’s beaches and in the South Atlantic off Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, but only if a state agrees to the oil and gas development along its coast. The states would share in revenues from oil and gas development.”
<
p>Dont get me wrong. I welcome the “shift”. I just wonder how hard core supporters are supposed to be sure that they are on the same page as the chosen one. I mean, is drilling a good thing or a bad thing and why … lol.
kirth says
a general dissemination of dots, that’s for sure.