Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Taking a look at the candidates' schedules, it's looking like, at least right now, the candidates aren't due to hold any events in the Philadelphia area in the time frame surrounding tomorrow's Philly-based debate (which I'll be liveblogging from the debate media room.) Michelle is in Indiana today and Barack is in NC tomorrow. Bill and Chelsea are in PA today but it's unclear what's happening on Thursday. One suspects that the weekend through election day will likely find the candidates back in the area, but in the meantime, they're going to have to rely on surrogates and ads on the air. Here are the two latest ads from Clinton and Obama that are up right now on the "bitter" controversy. I think Clinton's is smart because it uses real (presumably) Pennsylvanians, so it's not she who's uttering the "out of touch" attacks directly. Obama's is a strong response in that it hits Clinton's tactics and promises deliverance from politics of division/as usual, etc., which seems to be working for him. On message alone, it seems to me Obama wins since calling Obama out of touch doesn't track with a larger narrative, while accusing Clinton of being the poster child for "politics as usual" does, one that she reinforces time and time again.

What do you guys think?

Tags: 2008 Presidential election, Barack Obama, Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, Pennsylvania Primary (all tags)

Comments

125 Comments

I don't believe Clinton's

was actually placed on TV - seems like cutting the ad was only a means of extending the story.

by CardBoard 2008-04-15 12:55PM | 0 recs
Re: I don't believe Clinton's

No that trashy ad was on TV.

I thought the second 3 AM add was an April Fool's joke by her campaign,  I was painfully disappointed.

by GeorgeP922 2008-04-15 01:13PM | 0 recs
Her Ad Will Get Unlimited Free Air Time

From the bobbleheads using it as filler during their shows. Plus it doesn't get skipped by Tivo.

Because, you know, the media hates her so much.

by bernardpliers 2008-04-15 01:31PM | 0 recs
HRC Mayoral rally gets small turnout in PA

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/ne ws/state/pennsylvania/20080415_ap_clinto nmayoralrallygetssmallturnoutinpa.html

Excerpt

Clinton mayoral rally gets small turnout in Pa.
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Turnout at the "100 Mayors for Hillary" rally was a little under 20 percent.

by dearreader 2008-04-15 02:56PM | 0 recs
Re: I don't believe Clinton's

It ran during Sportscenter tonight.

by JDF 2008-04-15 09:44PM | 0 recs
Clinton's ad seems staged,

but Obama's was pretty effective.  If you already support one or the other, this won't change your mind.

by McNasty 2008-04-15 12:55PM | 0 recs
Re: Clinton's ad seems staged,

That's pretty much my assessment of her ad too...  She is banking on the "bitter" comment sinking him...  I don't think it resonates as much unless you already dislike him....

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 01:15PM | 0 recs
And his kind of leapfrogs that,

to make the bold and perhaps risky point that, as someone else here mentioned, attacking Senator Obama is "old politics."  Which it is--this is a classic example Senator Clinton pouncing on and milking a "gotcha" moment, which Senator Obama at least claims to despise as a tactic.

Given how saturated we all are with political ads and information, I think Obama's somewhat "post-modern" perspective on this can click with voters.  Senator Clinton's ad is a quintessential proxy attack ad, the form of which is so familiar now as to invite parody.  Not that attack ads don't work--Obama's ad also attacks--but that hers seems to be written from the same boilerplate script, while his has a few surprises and ends up much more positive.

by McNasty 2008-04-15 01:19PM | 0 recs
Both ads are at least decent

For the reasons you stated.

I think the Obama ad is amazing - but I'm an Obama supporter. This was like gravy for me (seeing Hillary booed for stepping over the line and attacking a fellow Democrat with right-wing frames).

The Obama ad is more in tune with the "youtube" era of politics, in that is shows a live event with visceral reactions from real human beings.

The Clinton ad, while unquestionably effective at it's target audience (the relatively small segment of voters who were offended), seems scripted as hell.

by Democratic Unity 2008-04-15 12:59PM | 0 recs
Re: Both ads are at least decent

very scripted.  She is better off just playing Obama's comments and letting others decide how they feel about them instead of telling people  how to feel.

That is my take anyway.

by dMarx 2008-04-15 01:01PM | 0 recs
Re: Both ads are at least decent

It was very smart of Hillary to use the Pennsylvanians instead to level the charges instead of doing it herself.

**For the record Obama supporters, she did not attacking him frontally in her ad.*

**His ad did not do much to hurt her--the only thing he did was show her denouncing "his statements" in a respectful manner.

Prediction: Hillary wins by 18+ in PA.

by Check077 2008-04-15 04:45PM | 0 recs
Re: Both ads are at least decent

Just the facts:

The clinton ad had the young couple on Fox today after 5pm, they said the following:

-The ad was cut on Sat
-They were not given a script
-They used their own words
-They are teachers at a religious day school and they were personally offended by the 'cling to religion' portion of the comments.

So, in answer to your ?, this was not scripted and I found it more effective than Obama's who again clings to the misogynistic ways of his campaign.

She also has a new ad hitting him on the lies/distortions that he tells about not taking any money from oil people when he signed on to the Cheney energy bill.

by shark 2008-04-15 05:04PM | 0 recs
Re: Both ads are at least decent

Out of curiosity, are the voting Democratic in the Fall...?

Oh, and also curious as to what on Earth you found misogynistic about Obama's ad?

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 05:19PM | 0 recs
Re: Both ads are at least decent

Correction to my above reference...

It should read are THEY voting Dem in the Fall referring to the young couple...

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 05:19PM | 0 recs
Re: Both ads are at least decent

If Obama's narrative works, it's pretty much the ultimate teflon - that attacking him is old politics.  As to who is the winner with these two ads, my guess would be Obama if for no other reason than he's probably going to run it twice as much as Clinton's.

by CA Pol Junkie 2008-04-15 01:09PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Obama has the upper hand on this narrative and he does well to stick to it.  Never mind that it is mindless hyperbole and he is happy to dish it out whenever he gets a chance. The add is effective.

Now if he can just convince all those small town Pennsylvanians to stop clinging to religion, guns, xenophobia, and racism to vote for him

by dMarx 2008-04-15 01:00PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

I find Obama's ad hypocritical in the extreme.  Politics as usual?  He's the one has been using an Republican attack ad almost verbatim.

He has his own financing/PAC/suppporter scandal.

He has his own personal recollection and personal vs. public positions controversy.

He has his own spousal loose cannon problem.

He has his own public/private policy agenda problem.

Seems like A WHOLE LOT OF THE SAME politics as usual, to me.  I find it disingenuous at the least and pretty much same ol' spin politics at the most.

by TxDem08 2008-04-15 01:01PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

I think the point was he never attacked her when she "misremembered" her trip to Bosnia.  She's going WILD attacking him for a bit of poor phrasing when she knows exactly what he meant, and probably even agrees with him.  The idea that rural folks vote against their economic self-interests in favor of social issues isn't exactly new, you know.

It's the "gotcha"-moment Clinton modus operandi that's "politics as usual".  It's also something that Obama eschews.

by ChrisKaty 2008-04-15 01:11PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

ummm....Have you forgotten him distorting what she said in IA about MS not electing a woman and turning it into an ad in MS and using it against her even though it was a clear distortion of her words?

by shark 2008-04-15 05:06PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

How was it a distortion of her words...?

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 05:21PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Why was it a distortion on her words???  She did say that she couldn't believe MS had never elected a woman - are you saying this is a lie?

by mariannie 2008-04-15 09:46PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Obama is spinning his way to the nomination. Hillary's campaign is bordering on self parody.Amusing indeed.

by tommy 2008-04-15 01:27PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

I agree.  Obama can no longer say that Hillary is being divisive because his comments have been more divisive than anything.  

by Marsha McLean 2008-04-15 02:48PM | 0 recs
Dueling Barack Obama...

It's pretty funny to see Barack Obama dueling himself.

These aren't Hillary Clintons comments, they're Barack Obamas...Fess up Barack; you are divisive.

by soyousay 2008-04-15 01:04PM | 0 recs
No, no, no.

The question was about the two videos.  Go watch, then comment.

by McNasty 2008-04-15 01:14PM | 0 recs
I did watch both videos...

...and Barack Obama is trying to ignore his own rhetoric. He needs to apologize to rural America for calling them racist.

by soyousay 2008-04-15 01:22PM | 0 recs
Re: I did watch both videos...

I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that you are not his target audience...  I mean, you will be at some point, but you have already made up your mind who you like....

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 01:25PM | 0 recs
"I mean, you will be at some point"

The above statement - you're making an assumption. You don't know that.

Obama said his "bitter" statement is true, and if he's referring to his statement in it's entirety, that would mean Obama believes rural America has antipathy for those that are different...in other words Obamas believes rural America is racist.

by soyousay 2008-04-15 01:34PM | 0 recs
Re: "I mean, you will be at some point"

Well, there IS racism in rural America.  It's not hard to find.  He didn't say that ALL of rural America is racist, he said that politicians play up the fears of the "other" to distract rural voters from voting their (Democratic-favoring) economic interests.  Which I think is pretty obviously true.

by ChrisKaty 2008-04-15 01:42PM | 0 recs
and there is racism....

in big cities, take Rev. Wright for example. Generalizing an entire group of people like that won't go over well. Sorry, but that comment was a loser. People aren't going to try to figure out what Obama meant, He may not have said ALL, but he didn't he say SOME either; Obama generalized and that's where the problem lies.

by soyousay 2008-04-15 01:59PM | 0 recs
Re: and there is racism....

It wasn't well-phrased to be sure, but I don't think I'm stretching to say that rural America is far more accepting of overt racism that urban America is.

He was asked a question about rural voters in PA, and was explaining some of his difficulty in connecting with them.  He was honest, he was largely right, and he phrased it poorly.

Focusing on "generalizing" is missing the point entirely.  Everyone generalizes all the time -- we talk about urban voters and rural voters and rustbelt voters and new england voters and on and on all the time, and no one bats an eye.  

This is a "gotcha" moment, nothing more, and I'm getting the feeling that Clinton's overplaying her hand.

by ChrisKaty 2008-04-15 02:17PM | 0 recs
Re: and there is racism....
Forget the politics of the gotcha--the statement says a lot about how he sees small town America (and your comments seem to echo this..). I find the whole thing offensive, patronizing, and just more evidence that those who fail to support our party may do so not because we are wrong on the issues but because WE are wrong.
Our superiority of policy positions can be of little assistance if we offend people by claiming that they are "clinging" to guns and god because they are weak-minded.
If you think that the people he is dismissing are not his true audience, that is fine. It simply confirms that the claims that Obama will be crafting a new style of politics that doesnt leave people out of the system is simply lip service and he will be running a fairly traditional general election campaign.
That pivot is not likely to be very easy and he will lose some of the optimists, and he clearly cannot make up the ground with the blue collar workers whose read of him from the start appeared to be sound.
by hctb 2008-04-15 02:53PM | 0 recs
Re: and there is racism....

I've lived in a lot of small towns in various parts of the country and I don't think that Obama said anything demeaning about me or my neighbors.  It seemed like a perfectly accurate assessment, if badly phrased.  

What specifically do you think was incorrect about it?

by juliewolf 2008-04-15 03:28PM | 0 recs
Re: and there is racism....

The part about clinging to guns and religion out of bitterness.

by dMarx 2008-04-15 03:36PM | 0 recs
Re: and there is racism....

I don't think that's exactly what he said.  

by juliewolf 2008-04-15 03:39PM | 0 recs
Not just rural voters

I don't remember where I read this, but didn't Obama make similar comments about urban folks as well?

Racism and sexism are facts of life here in America. That's part of why this particular primary is so historic, right?

His mistake was trying to get too deep into the sociology of tribalism when he should have been politicking. Using such language when talking about Americans just doesn't sell well.

by professor 2008-04-15 01:50PM | 0 recs
That's a very good point

His mistake was trying to get too deep into the sociology of tribalism when he should have been politicking

No one cares to be analyzed by a politician, especially when the politician perceives them in negative fashion.

by soyousay 2008-04-15 02:10PM | 0 recs
News Flash

It is.  Born and Raised, seen it first hand.  There are many white people still love to say n****r when not in mixed company. And don't even get started on the f*gs, the feminists, and the Mexicans.  Get real.  No, not everyone is bigoted, but its pretty common.

by nwgates 2008-04-15 02:19PM | 0 recs
Re: News Flash

and I can tell you that there are many Blacks who still use daily terms like 'cracker' and 'white trash'.

by shark 2008-04-15 05:07PM | 0 recs
Re: "I mean, you will be at some point"

...and if Hitler was a racist, that means Obama was a racist... and if Hitler was an art lover and Art Garfunkle's first name was art, that means Obama likes folk music.  

Jiminy Christmas, you people need to get a dang life.

by zadura 2008-04-15 03:19PM | 0 recs
Re: "I mean, you will be at some point"

I don't know that you are a Democratic voter and therefore will be his target audience at some point...?

You're right... of course, having read so many times that this thing or that will sink Obama's campaign, I guess I will have to wait...

But you will at some point be his target audience...

Unless you are voting for McCain or not voting/writing Hillary in....

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 05:24PM | 0 recs
Re: "I mean, you will be at some point"

Give it a rest...why do you protest so much???  because maybe what you THINK he is saying is pointing to YOU???

by mariannie 2008-04-15 09:48PM | 0 recs
Re: "I mean, you will be at some point"

Good point, and remember you don't even have to draw the racism point from the "antipathy" segment.  The race parts are right there in the speech where

1. He says, "it's a race thing."

and

2. He says, "it doesn't help to hear [my message] coming from a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama."

The more this speech goes under the microscope, the more it turns out to be a gift that keeps giving.  

by BPK80 2008-04-15 11:18PM | 0 recs
Re: "I mean, you will be at some point"

have you ever been to rural america? There'e plenty of racism there, probably because the majority of people in rural areas rarely actually interact with minorities and only have news-fed stereotypes to go on.

by Groper 2008-04-16 07:02AM | 0 recs
Re: I did watch both videos...

Now that sound likes a parody.  Obama says something about guns and religion, that of course means that....he thinks their racist.  Your reaching quite a bit there Soyousay.

by GobBluth 2008-04-15 01:34PM | 0 recs
Re: I did watch both videos...

"antipathy" was part of the statement.

You mustn't know what that means.

by soyousay 2008-04-15 01:37PM | 0 recs
Re: I did watch both videos...

If you bothered to read the whole quote, he was saying they weren't racist.

by mikeinsf 2008-04-15 02:10PM | 0 recs
Re: I did watch both videos...

As a McCain supporter you should focus on his record and the harm he would do as President. Senator Obama is going to be our next president despite the gotcha politics. (Just look at the polls)  Senator Obama has won the race and when he faces your candidate it will be no contest.

by Politicalslave 2008-04-15 03:39PM | 0 recs
Re: I did watch both videos...

You should be able to find and post the quote where Obama called anyone "racist."

If he actually did, that is.

Take your time. I'll be right here.

by Kobi 2008-04-15 08:38PM | 0 recs
Re: I did watch both videos...

"And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama, then that adds another layer of skepticism."

by BPK80 2008-04-15 11:22PM | 0 recs
Re: I did watch both videos...

Still here waiting for that quote.

by Kobi 2008-04-16 12:19AM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

How about this one...

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/g uide_ad

by hootie4170 2008-04-15 01:11PM | 0 recs
no thanks

by soyousay 2008-04-15 01:42PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Hillary fell for it. Now she's provoked Obama to explain himself fully, which is his strength. The mountain out of a molehill ultimately will benefit him because it brings up the subject of economic disparity which needs to be discussed and his rhetoric will win out.

It will be interesting to see they both handle it in the Debate. Obama should talk about the issue, but refrain from mentioning Hillary, thus taking the high ground. It worked before...

by Cristalgirl 2008-04-15 01:12PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

When this is all over, we can truly look back and say Obama took the upper ground through the whole campaign!   And as Democrats we will beam with pride.

Where oh where is Barack's kitchen sink???????????

It's in his kitchen, where it belongs (it's patiently waiting to land on McCain)

by GeorgeP922 2008-04-15 01:18PM | 0 recs
Hillary Teased The Bull And Got The Horn nt

by bernardpliers 2008-04-15 01:45PM | 0 recs
Back to Back ?

If Obama is smart he will pay extra money to have his ad directly trail Hillary's.

If you can watch both ads back to back and still support Hillary, you really need to change parties.

I would suggest reading this blog which covers this EXACT topic, of using republican framing to attack fellow democrats.
http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/4/15/1538 7/8944

by GeorgeP922 2008-04-15 01:15PM | 0 recs
Re: Back to Back ?

TR'd for the "If you can watch both ads back to back and still support Hillary, you really need to change parties."

not constructive. not useful.

what was the statement yesterday? plonk.

by hctb 2008-04-15 02:57PM | 0 recs
Re: Back to Back ?

I have seen worse....

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 05:25PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

I think Obama can't get past it, and when he blames Hillary for calling him on his words, it's clear that far more people than Hilary are talking about it and are thinking for themselves, she's not driving this story. But she'd be wrong to let it go, Kerry lost the last election over the same perception, and she needs to come out against that kind of 'I'm better than you' thing, for the good of the party, and even for the good of Obama if he can still be the nom.  I don't think attacking Hillary will make him seem more in touch, I don't think anyone can win the 'who's more out of touch' contest in a way that would work in the GE.  I don't think rich people are necessarily more out of touch either.  

McCain assumes he'll be our nom anyway and it's his main subject, she's alluding to it but mainly sticking to the issues, giving us her plans and her responses to national and world events.

But, we'll find out when the voters vote in PA.  He does seem elitist, even in his speeches, he presents as himself as a moral leader, and that already is a problem.  It's his plus with those who want to be inspired, but it's not a plus to those who want just a regular person to be president, who'll just get the job done and not try to drive culture.  I mean, my soul is my own business.  

by anna shane 2008-04-15 01:17PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

They are all elitists....  I mean that.  They are, all 3, United States Senators...  they are the ruling class of electoral politics in this country.

You could add the upper class elitism of the three given their net worths...

I wouldn't mind an intellectual elite as President personally...  you cannot spell that without the word intellectual... a far cry from where we are now.

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 01:28PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling

I don't see her that way.  She's worked her whole life, and were she an elitist she'd take a break right now and go live elite, not take on a thankless really hard job.  I don't think she thinks she's better than anyone else, I think she's humble.  And sort of funny and she can laugh at herself.  I don't think he has real humor, not the kind that gives a belly laugh or that finds his own pretensions amusing.  But i don't think she'll win the prez on being a woman of the people, I think she'll win it because voters poll they respect her abilities and think she'd make a fine president, even if they don't like her, and Bush has left such a huge job for the next person that we'll need a workaholic who fires hacks to make a dent in it. I think even pugs will vote for someone who'll clean up the bush mess.  But, that's my opinion.  

by anna shane 2008-04-15 01:38PM | 0 recs
You could make that argument all around

Why does any of these three bother with politics at all? Each has worked hard and entered into the class of political elites.

by professor 2008-04-15 01:55PM | 0 recs
I get the feeling Obama's impatience...

is a real weakness for him. I could see him becoming frustrated by the need to build more of a consensus in Washington and eventually, becoming bored and detached from his 'mundane' responsibilities as President. I think that would be an incredible disaster for America.

(We've had that problem with Bush and look where it has gotten us.)

I also find it a bit distressing that Obama has not said that he will ask his supporters to vote for Hillary if he does not win the nomination, as Hillary has already said she would ask her supporters. However, his campaign keeps accusing her of everything under the sun to distract us from basic facts like that.

He's got a way too big, self-destructive ego.

You all know that its true.

by architek 2008-04-15 05:06PM | 0 recs
Re: I get the feeling Obama's impatience...

I don't know that is true... there goes your theory that we "all know it"....

What is the impatience you cite...?  Is it because you wanted him to wait 4 or 8 years because it's her turn...?  

As to the rest, that is your opinion...  maybe also the opinion of the other anti-Obama people, but certainly not the view of his supporters...

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 05:33PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling

I'm sorry, I must have missed the part where he was not working his whole life...

President is a "thanklessly hard job..."?  What, so we should now feel somehow blessed that she is sacrificing herself to run for the post, is that your stance?

She was First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, and a two term Senator...  That hardly qualifies her as a brick-layer or a day laborer....  And she herself has hired hacks who did not get the job done...  If they did get the job done, she would be the nominee by now....

They are all the elite ruling class of this country, legislatively and socioeconomically....

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 05:30PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads
Yeah, your soul is certainly your own business. But I don't really get the idea of "people who want just a regular person to be president." I guess my feeling is more like what Jon Stewart said last night about this on the Daily Show. Did others here see that?
(e.g., in a rough quote from memory: "It's a job that--if it goes well--you might get your HEAD CARVED INTO A MOUNTAIN. In a way, if you don't think you're better than the rest of us, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING [trying to get the job]?)
by kydoc 2008-04-15 01:40PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Saw that.  It was hallarious.

by fogiv 2008-04-15 03:00PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

It probably helps that Stewart thinks he is better than us.

But do we really want a President who thinks he has more information and can act as a good agent of the interests we state or is it that we want a President who thinks they know better than us what we need? I think the comment smacks of the latter and people should be offended. Its called moral hazard.  It is why voters want to feel the agent is "like them."

Maybe Stewart needs to introduce a new segment: this week's moral hazard.

by hctb 2008-04-15 03:07PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

This comment makes no sense.  The president does have better information than you.  S/he has better advisors than you.  S/he has better researchers than you.  The entire basis of representative government is based on the idea of someone having better information and judgment than you.  

by zadura 2008-04-15 03:24PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Stewart is funnier and in a lot of cases smarter than some of us, so if that makes him better, so be it....

I would like a President who is more capable and smarter with better judgment than me....

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 05:35PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Why would you want a regular person to be president?  That's supposedly what GWB is.  It's an extraordinary office and only extraordinary people need apply (which each of the remaining candidates arguably is).

by rfahey22 2008-04-15 01:42PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

cause we're all regular people.  We generally earn our positions by qualifying for them, we have records to back us up, usually.   I don't need to be lectured on morals by anyone, I don't think the  pope is better than me or some president of anyplace. I'd like the president to be smarter than me, and to have qualified for the job and to share my priorities, not be a better person than me. Obama to my mind seems quite high on himself, not on what he's accomplished, but on himself.  he thinks he knows as much about foreigners as anyone else, but he didn't know that they way he phrased his answer in SF is offensive and off-putting?  Seems he has book smarts, but no common sense. Jon Stewart has earned his position, in the way of American capitalism, he gets paid because he has an audience, he's a product. In the same way so is O'Reilly.  Hitler was a great leader in that he had many followers.  I don't trust any leaders judgement, I want to know what they've done so far and what they plan to do.  With this i trust Hillary, and not Obama.  There isn't enough data for me to make a judgement, and I don't choose by inspiration.  If I want inspiration I'll read philosophy. I want a president who doesn't want a crown who doesn't need applause, and who wants to roll up his sleeves and work for his salary.  This is a democracy, we don't like kings. We don't like the royal we here, or at least I don't want a king.  

by anna shane 2008-04-15 03:42PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Seriously, can we make our points around here without bringing up Adolph Hitler....?

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 05:37PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

I think the Obama ad will be very effective. It reminds people of Clinton's attacks and immediately pivots to real issues and how they would be addressed. It also does not hurt to remind voters of the PA endorsements he has received. Obama never ran any negative ads on the whole Bosnia thing though he could have. There is a difference in class and it shows. It is also very unusual for the candidate leading in a state to run negative ads. It smacks of desperation.

by jadegirl 2008-04-15 01:18PM | 0 recs
New LATimes/Bloomberg polls

Just released. In Pennsylvania Clinton has a 5 point margin. 46-41 In Indiana, Obama leads by 5 points 40-35.

by jadegirl 2008-04-15 01:19PM | 0 recs
by mady 2008-04-15 01:36PM | 0 recs
Bloomberg? BLOOMBERG?!?! n/t

by creeper1014 2008-04-15 01:39PM | 0 recs
Not hissoner personally

Mike Bloomberg has little contact with the Bloomberg media company.

by professor 2008-04-15 01:57PM | 0 recs
Re: New LATimes/Bloomberg polls

Plesase don't refer to those polls. This is their first poll in any of those states.  Also, I refused to believe that there are 13% undecides in PA and 25% undecideds in IN.

This is a pattern, clinton starts out with a bit lead, Obama comes in, closes a bit, Hillary holds on and a week to a few days before the primary, all the polls say that he is ahead, closed or within striking distance.

Remember CA, Oh and Tx.  PA is between NJ and OH, 2 states where she won by 10pts, PA has more of her base in it and she has more support. Despite Obama spending an unprecedented $3.3mil this week to crush her, I expect her to win by more than 10pts.

In
Susa had her up by 16 yesterday and up by 9 in the previous poll. I don't believe this LA Times poll at all, In addition, Hillary, Bill and Chelsea have visited IN much more than Obama and has had great turn out.

NC
I think that Obama may be up by more than what they are saying.

by shark 2008-04-15 05:14PM | 0 recs
Re: Obama's ad

"There's a reason people are rejecting Hillary..."

Aren't the "people" rejecting HRC in Obama's ad  actually Obama supporters?  If they are, his ad ought to say:  "There's a reason Obama's supporters are rejecting Hillary..."

Otherwise, this is a misleading, disingenous, distorting and outright untruthful ad put out by Obama's campaign.

by moevaughn 2008-04-15 01:23PM | 0 recs
Re: Obama's ad

Aren't the people in Hillary's ad either Clinton supporters or paid actors...?

If they are, they should say, we are Hillary supporters because....  or hey, we were paid to say this...

Otherwise, yada, yada all that stuff you said at the end...

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 01:30PM | 0 recs
Re: Obama's ad

Yeh, I got kind of caried away in my last sentence.  It just seems there's this pattern of Obama's supporters booing.  Like when they rudely booed Rep. Shirley Lee Jackson.  anyway...

at least the Dems don't pre-screen their audiences like Bush has always done.

by moevaughn 2008-04-15 01:55PM | 0 recs
Not necessarily

The original CNN article about Clinton getting booed says this:


...

But the audience at a forum put on by the Alliance for American Manufacturing didn't appreciate her line of attack.

"I understand my opponent came this morning and spent a lot of his time attacking me," she said at the beginning of her remarks here.

Many in the crowd responded with audible groans, and a few shouted, "No!"

Obama spoke to the same forum earlier in the morning and ribbed Clinton for doing a shot of whiskey in front of TV cameras on Saturday in Indiana.

Clinton continued, "I know that many of you, like me, were disappointed by the recent remarks he made."

This time, a louder, sustained chorus of "No!" emanated from the audience. Clinton soldiered on.

"I am well aware that at a fundraiser in San Francisco he said some things that many people in Pennsylvania and beyond Pennsylvania have found offensive," she said.

This time, a smaller smattering of jeers.

It was only when Clinton concluded her opening remarks by attacking President Bush that she received a warm round of applause.

The Clinton campaign later said the disgruntled reaction to her remarks came from Obama supporters in attendance.

Several audience members told CNN after the speech they came to the forum to hear each candidate talk about trade issues, and were not interested in the political back-and-forth of the Democratic primary race.

...

(Emphasis added.)

So far, the only people I've heard say the booing came from Obama supporters are the Clinton campaign. I haven't seen it confirmed anywhere else. Personally, I suspect that's a biased source, as the Clinton campaign has an interest in painting the other side in a bad light.

Either that, or we're just defining "Obama supporters" as "Anyone who disagrees with Hillary Clinton."

I'm just asking, who's misleading whom? Obama supporters might have booed, but from the CNN article, it sounds like most of the jeering came from people that wanted to hear about issues, not stupid "gotcha" moments.

by Fitzy 2008-04-15 01:39PM | 0 recs
Alliance For American Manufacturing

These people are almost universally white male Anglo-Saxon Protestants.  They vote Republican in droves.

I ought to know.  I'm married to one of them.

by creeper1014 2008-04-15 01:42PM | 0 recs
I shouldn't, but I get ANGRY

When I hear Obama say,

When we get past the politics of division and distraction and we start forcising on what we have in common, there's nothing we can't accomplish.

I recall Bill Clinton's inauguration speech and quote many times afterward:

There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.

Bill Clinton 1993 Inauguration

It's not plagiarism, but darn it all, he's saying almost the same thing.  At the same time, he praises Republican presidents and Republican decisions.  I haven't heard him say good things about Bill Clinton - maybe I just missed it, so I'm not saying that he doesn't.  But it seems that many times he is using Bill Clinton words in a slightly different way - while ignoring his accomplishments.  "The man from a place called Hope."

Even Obama supporters low-rate Bill Clinton as having done zilch, nada for the average Americans, that he was Republican-lite, etc.

How can he almost quote the man, and all the Obama supporters quiver at his words, and then turn around and ignore or dis his accomplishments and Obama supporters do the same?

I am supporting Hillary now.

I know in my heart of hearts that had Hillary been the one to say the "bitter remarks", it would have received alot more negative media coverage.  If it were Hillary's people who were saying that she was raised by a single mother - leaving out all the great stuff of grandparents, etc. (and I'm NOT knocking Obama's upbringing) and that her mother remarried within a few years, the media would be screaming to the tune of Sniper Fire.

I don't like it.  I don't think it's fair.  I wouldn't like it - and I'm not going to like it IF and when the media does the same to Obama.

Fair is fair.  And the MSM sucks at fairness.  FOX news - FOX crappy news of all things - have more positive things to say about Hillary!  Sheesh, I can't watch that crap, not after all the crappola they dished and still dish on Democrats!

by Southern Mouth 2008-04-15 01:25PM | 0 recs
Re: I shouldn't, but I get ANGRY

The problem with your point isn't that we think that Bill Clinton was a bad president, because that is not at all the case.  The problem is that we feel like we can do better, and you shouldn't be upset about that if you're a progressive.  If Obama becomes President and accomplishes a lot, I hope that President Chelsea does even better than him.  President Clinton and his Presidency had its great accomplishments, but also its flaws, and we shouldn't be so sensitive not to acknowledge that.  As much as we as a party love JFK, the fact is that FDR changed politics for generations and his influence is still felt.  It doesn't mean that we don't love JFK and it doesn't mean that he was a bad President, but there is a hope that we can have a tranformative Presidency like FDR that has that type of long-lasting effect and it's hard to argue that Bill Clinton's Presidency did.

by GobBluth 2008-04-15 01:53PM | 0 recs
Americans think that Bill Clinton was a good Pres.

Why don't Obama's online suporters reflect the American people? As Democrats, they should be fairly united on that.

Hmm.. maybe some of them aren't Democrats?

by architek 2008-04-15 05:10PM | 0 recs
Re: Americans think that Bill Clinton was a good P

No one... but no one... who takes the time to blog especially on a regular basis should be construed as reflective of the American public....

As to the last line, the same could be said of Clinton supporters....

Poll tonight on local news... 13% of Obama supporters will vote for McCain (they say), compared to twice that number of Clinton supporters.... 26%

by JenKinFLA 2008-04-15 05:42PM | 0 recs
Re: I shouldn't, but I get ANGRY
I know in my heart of hearts that had Hillary been the one to say the "bitter remarks", it would have received alot more negative media coverage.

If Hillary had been the one to say the "bitter remarks", Obama wouldn't have said a word about it.  That's one of the differences between the candidates, and one of the reasons why I'm supporting Obama.
by ChrisKaty 2008-04-15 01:53PM | 0 recs
I hear you ... but

What about Obama saying the Annie Oakley bit?

It's my "perception" that Obama has put out a lot of negative ads about Hillary AND has made allusions, snickering type negatives about Clinton.  I'm not saying that he shouldn't ... I'm just saying that if someone does X and then denies doing X, it's a problem for me.  I support Hillary but I have a big problem with her statements about sniper fire.  I ask myself, "What the hell are you thinking?  Are you daft?"  She KNOWS well enough that all those things are checked out.  

Personally, I feel like I can be critical of my chosen candidate - for instance I didn't like her using the term elitest over and over.  And my "perception" (not saying it's reality) is that Obama supporters not only have an exaggerated appreciation but are overly sensitive of any criticism whether fair or not.

by Southern Mouth 2008-04-15 02:33PM | 0 recs
Re: I hear you ... but

Southern Mouth said:
"What about Obama saying the Annie Oakley bit?"

If Obama had been making fun of her for no reason, I would agree that the Annie Oakley remark was mean and below the belt.  But before the Annie Oakley, joke HRC had spent two days hammering Obama about a statement that he admitted he fumbled and has since apologized about.  She spent days calling him elitist--when as a child the dude was on food stamps and ate dog in Indonesia.  The Clinton campaign was passing out "I'm not bitter" stickers the next day (it almost makes one wonder if they knew about bitter-gate before the story broke Friday).  Clinton was essentially accusing Obama of mocking rural voters.  

In this context, I think the Annie Oakley joke showed restraint on Obama's part.  If it had been me, I would've brought up Tuzla-gate, Ireland-gate, NAFTA-gate, Colombia-gate, Kazakhstan-gate, Library donors-gate and Lewinsky-gate.  Now that would've been low.

by happycozy 2008-04-15 07:20PM | 0 recs
Maybe he thinks Bill was right? n/t

by professor 2008-04-15 02:00PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Look at the incredibly low production quality of that Clinton ad.  Did she produce that in her bathroom?  WOW.

by baghdadjoe 2008-04-15 01:25PM | 0 recs
David Axelrod

is a master at political ads. It really shows.

I guess Clinton just doesn't have anybody comparable. That also shows.

by professor 2008-04-15 02:02PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

They've been cutting corners with ad production costs for quite some time.

by jturn17 2008-04-15 02:20PM | 0 recs
Just another attack ad

Sen CLinton has been reduced to the kitchen sink for what?  Over a month now?  The public didn't buy into the Rev Wright flap.  Well, the public sure as hell is not going to abandon Sen Obama because he said the public is mad as hell at its incumbant politicians.

I do not see what is smart about the Clinton ad. It shows no imgination.  It's just screeching to the (ever-shrinking) choir.

by Quicklund 2008-04-15 01:25PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

HRC commercial seem scripted and negative. I hope those were real PA residents in the commercial.

by comingawakening 2008-04-15 01:33PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

BO's "bitter" comments seem unscripted and negative..

by soyousay 2008-04-15 01:36PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

I doubt they were real, prob just some poor interns.

Or they used that "philly campain" cash I keep hearing on TV about (obama refused it, hillary is silent)
I will rue the day I meet a DEMOCRAT that has been offended once by Obama.

by GeorgeP922 2008-04-15 01:56PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

read my remarks above, they were local people who were talking in their own words. Give it a rest.

by shark 2008-04-15 05:16PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

I just got off the phone with my mom.  She asked me about the election and before I could get two thoughts out, she went on a long rant about how much she hates the tactics that Clinton is using now.  She voted for Clinton, was talking about doing volunteer work for her, but the PA speech started to move her and now she sounds like me a month ago.

Sure it's just one example and it's dangerous to generalize from that but there is serious backlash potential to the kitchen sink.

by thezzyzx 2008-04-15 01:39PM | 0 recs
Good for you,

you convinced your mother; others won't be so easy to convince.

by soyousay 2008-04-15 01:41PM | 0 recs
Re: Good for you,

Actually I didn't.  I'm a bad son and hadn't talked to her since the race speech.  This happened on her own.

by thezzyzx 2008-04-15 01:42PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

It's the kind of thing we saw with Wright too -- even though Clinton largely steered clear, her favorables were hurt more than his were.  She's going much more negative with this incident, and I think there's the potential for her to be hurt even more.

by ChrisKaty 2008-04-15 01:56PM | 0 recs
Had the exact opposite experience -

talked to a registered Independent yesterday who is up in arms about the elitist attitude of Obama's 'gaffe'  - he was saying things like 'how could he give that big speech against profiling when he himself is a racial profiler [based on SF]' -

just sayin'  I don't believe for a minute this blog meme that this SF incident had 'no ill effect on Obama'.

by Molee 2008-04-15 02:31PM | 0 recs
It's Call "Fire Discipline"

You don't call in the artillery until the opponent has wandered into the kill box. And a barrage just caught Hillary in the open.

Obama just ran an incredibly disciplined campaign, refusing to be baited and letting Hillary get more and more provocative until public opinion started to turn against her, then WHAM, countered with a big overhand right that put her lights out. That "thud" was Hillary hitting the canvas as Mark Penn scurries to the exit.

Think about it, if Hillary wasn't out there being so obnoxious, Obama would have no ad. Nope he just let her go on and on, letting her think she was gaining ground. Her pattern has become too predictable - every time she has overplayed her hand and rubbed these non-issues into the ground, ignoring the fact that she is delivering these lines into dead silence as the crowds refuse to respond. So Axelrod waited for her to do it one more time.

And that is the consequence of her playing to Fox News and relying on them to edit out the lack of positive response from the crowd.

by bernardpliers 2008-04-15 01:41PM | 0 recs
Despite the ads I think this dire Obama

prediction is worth looking at from Madonna and Young about Pennsylvania why Obama will lose:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/article s/2008/04/obamas_feet_of_clay.html

"All of these foot-in-the-mouth moments ended badly for the offending candidate--causing or contributing to their defeat. Pennsylvania journalist Al Neri has neatly summed up the lesson to be learned here: "... as Pennsylvania history shows, when you did have to admit an error, apologize and ask for forgiveness, it always meant one thing: you were going to lose."

by Molee 2008-04-15 02:28PM | 0 recs
Uh, no.
I see Obama's ad as associating Hillary with high gas prices and a failing economy.  That's only believable if you were an infant during the Clinton administration.  
That's what I saw.  It was the first thing that jumped out at me.  It's completely unbelievable.  Like it or not, you can't associate Clinton with the working class and make fun of her supporters all campaign season and then turn around and tell people she's out of touch.  
The first ad is more believable to me.  The media will miss the accents but the public won't.  They're not actors.  
by goldberry 2008-04-15 02:30PM | 0 recs
That's just crazy..

You are right, going back and looking at it, you are right..

How could people possibly fall for that!?

by architek 2008-04-15 05:12PM | 0 recs
Barack's Bitter Bigots

Here's a YouTube video that puts what Barack said into context:

Barack's Bitter Bigots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHhd1inex mk

by Nobama 2008-04-15 02:36PM | 0 recs
I remember reading somewhere...

...that Clinton is running a 1st rate 20th century campaign and Obama is running a 1st rate 21st century campaign.

What we're seeing here is two candidates who have clearly learned a lot from mistakes made by Kerry and Gore.  The problem is, they learned different things and the things Clinton learned may have worked well against Republicans but won't work as well against Democrats.  

While Clinton learned that it was important to go on the attack instead of ever being on the defensive, she didn't learn that going on the attack is only effective if it's perceived as a measured response.  

If, however, it's perceived as an over the top response, she looks out of control, and we've seen this a couple times now-- in the Ohio Debate when Obama was grilled about his (fake) connection to Louis Farrakhan, and Clinton could have taken the high ground but decided instead to go on the attack.  It didn't serve her at all and probably hurt her because she opened the door for Obama to show what he learned from those elections, which is that when you are attacked, you find a way to diffuse the attack.  In the debate case, he did so by making Clinton look small and petty.

I don't know what's going to happen here with the "bitter" comments, but I think we're going to see it play out in the same fashion: in the short term, the comments may hurt him a little in Pennsylvania, but the more Clinton harps on it, the more opportunity Obama has to make it look like something silly and over the top, and soon enough everyone's just inured to it.

by juliewolf 2008-04-15 02:40PM | 0 recs
the campaigns matter less than the people behind

them, and all the money and PR firms in the world don't seem to be convincing people that Barack Obama is the person they want to have to look at as president thousands of times over the next four years.

He just doesn't give many people confidence that he is on their side.

Quite the opposite.

by architek 2008-04-15 05:15PM | 0 recs
Uhm...

Right.  That's why he's doing so poorly in the polls and his negatives are so high.

Oh, wait: that's not Obama.

by juliewolf 2008-04-16 04:16AM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads
tap yer toes....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWsGyNsw 00
by nogo war 2008-04-15 02:40PM | 0 recs
I don't think

either one will have much effect except for what the talking heads talk about but I agree with Todd. Obama's ties into a bigger theme and therefore is probably more effective then Clinton's.

by Populista 2008-04-15 03:05PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Is it just me, or is the Clinton campaign saying that "regular people" are fat?

by Groper 2008-04-15 03:23PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Interesting tidbit:

You can post a comment to Obama's ad on YouTube, but you can't do that on Hillary's ad. There are 2 comments posted and they didn't take the comment I posted several hours ago. The 2 comments are the same 2 that were there this morning.

Doesn't exactly exude confidence from the Hillary camp.

by wayne204 2008-04-15 03:25PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

by Politicalslave 2008-04-15 03:27PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads
I would just say Obama knows how to counterpunch
and it shows in the polls. He made a mistake but if Senator Clinton is going to stick with attacking him over the "bitter" mistake I think it's good for Obama because it looks like overkill
and she isn't talking about other issues.
by Politicalslave 2008-04-15 03:32PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Obama's ad really does nothing to help him. He's blaming Hillary once again for his own mistake. Stupid. He's trying to ignore what he has done and pretend it goes away. Bad decision.

by Ga6thDem 2008-04-15 04:22PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Hillary's ad shows how people are genuinely reacting in Pennsylvania.  For detached people who know nothing about the state firsthand to dismiss it as "faux outrage" just twists the same knife that Barack put there in the first place.

Barack's ad looks like he sent people to a Clinton speech and had them jeer.  He's on the defense and Pennsylvanians can sense it.  

Hillary 61%
Barack  38%

by BPK80 2008-04-15 11:34PM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

I think she'll win by about 15% in PA, but I also think there is zero evidence that the "bitter" controversy has mattered in the slightest.

The faux outrage line of attack just gets kind of tiresome I think.  Most americans are smart enough to find it a bit laughable when Hillary Clinton acts shocked and dismayed because someone else says something elitist.

by snaktime 2008-04-16 06:00AM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

Bruce Springsteen has endorsed Obama! Read all about it at

http://raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?dia ryId=13821

by jlmccreery 2008-04-16 06:03AM | 0 recs
Re: Dueling Pennsylvania Ads

As usual, the media and Hillary Campaign underestimate the intelligence of most VOTERS (and I do want to stress the voters aspect as opposed to other Americans who do not vote).  I am in Pennsylvania right now and have done canvassing (door knocking) for the Obama Campaign for the last 5 days at hundreds of doors in working class neighborhoods (including some very poor neighborhoods) and NOT ONCE have I heard a single person mention this issue in a negative way, and the few people who have mentioned it have either (a) joked about how the Hillary Campaign thinks they are stupid, just like other politicians and media, or (b) acknowledged that they are bitter because of decades of economic decline and neglect and they are ready for a real change.  And the two Obama Campaign offices' staff and volunteers here have discussed the "bitter" issue a lot and I have not heard of anyone else canvassing or phonebanking on the thousands of houses and calls who made a big issue of it.  

So, my guess is that the longer Hillary keeps milking this issue, the more of a NET LOSS this will be for her campaign.  Meanwhile, the Obama Campaign will keep doing what we do best, respecting voters' intelligence, talking with them one on one at their door and on the phone about the real issues that matter in America.

by nadacascadia 2008-04-16 06:17AM | 0 recs

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