John McCain is Out of Touch

by Jonathan Singer, Thu Aug 14, 2008 at 09:51:00 AM EDT

That is effectively the message of two new hits on the economy, one from the Obama campaign on the state of the economy and the other from the AFL-CIO on Social Security. Take a look:

The Obama ad above is running in Indiana, though it would be great to see the spot replicated with locals for other key swing states (particularly those facing worse economic conditions than the nation as a whole). It's right on message, doesn't mince words, and it does exactly what it sets out to do: expose John McCain for who he is -- a hard right Republican who is wholly out of touch on the issue of the economy. The latest AFL-CIO mailer, which is running in multiple swing states, echoes the same message.

The McCain campaign may believe that calling Barack Obama a celebrity and denigrating the millions who have contributed to Obama's presidential campaign and the millions more who have been involved in other ways is an effective hit (though Gallup would seem to disagree that the hit had any real lasting impact), but it appears that this line of attack on McCain -- that he is out of touch, whether on the economy, Iraq, or other topics -- appears much more damaging as it truly gets to the core of why McCain is unfit to be President.

Tags: Economy, John McCain, White House 2008 (all tags)

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Re: John McCain is Out of Touch

John McCain's team doesn't seem to grasp how far out of the mainstream they really are. They think they can win an election by just making fun of liberals, not realizing (or wanting to) that it only feeds the most negative perceptions of Republicans.

It's taken awhile for Obama's campaign to decide on how to proceed, but they seem to be moving along at a pretty good clip. The fairly lightweight national ads stand in sharp contrast to these devastating local ads.

by vcalzone 2008-08-14 10:39AM | 0 recs

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Re: John McCain is Out of Touch

This is an outstanding ad. I like how it shows clips of people in the blue collar states like Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. There's a sharp contrast between what middle class people are going through and what McCain actually believes.

by Steve24 2008-08-14 10:47AM | 0 recs

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Re: John McCain is Out of Touch

I think the most effective part of the AFL-CIO add is the unflattering picture of McCain. That surely is his worst angle.

The other stuff. I don't know if it will have any impact. Kerry, Bush, and Gore all have money. Only Bill Clinton wasn't rich, but he became wealthy and then Obama used it against Hillary in the primaries but I seriously doubt it cost her any votes. Turns out Obama made over $4 million last year. Also, Obama has a huge jet. O-Force 1?

Nah, the AFL-CIO add is very interesting that they would try to use class resentment to get votes for Obama who will end up being as wealthy as Bill Clinton and McCain someday.

by dMarx 2008-08-14 11:21AM | 0 recs

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Re: John McCain is Out of Touch

The wealth argument will have more impact on McCain than it did for Bush and less than it did on Kerry. Although the privilege argument was much stronger for Bush, he was also highly styled as a cowboy, a good ol' boy who would rather be home clearing brush if he didn't feel called to run for office. McCain isn't that way, he's always lived the high life. Fancy jets, multiple homes, beautiful women. And unlike Bush, he didn't act early to make sure that it DIDN'T reflect in his campaign or current lifestyle.

by vcalzone 2008-08-14 12:10PM | 0 recs

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I like the AFL/CIO one alot

Why can't the Democratic Party come up with ads that good?

by Bush Bites 2008-08-14 06:48PM | 0 recs