Wednesday, July 30, 2008

McCain's Ads Targeting "Lunchboxers"

You remember the "lunchbox" workers from the primaries, don't you? 

Apparently, John McCain's seemingly dim-witted ad campaign--led by a Bush-Cheney vet-- is making inroads with those who would rather perceive Obama as arrogant than admit they wouldn't vote for a black man. 

So while we poke fun at McCain's ads, there are people out there eating it up. 

Sounds a lot like Hillary's strategy, which worked pretty well. Unethical but savvy, so says this blogger at Newsweek

The press may have been too focused on McCain's easily-mockable blunders to get the message. But we're willing to bet that swing voters weren't.

Here's how the strategy worked. Last week, the McCain camp released two ads. The first, "Pump," implicitly linked Obama's opposition to off-shore oil drilling--a stance that two-thirds of the country opposes--to skyrocketing gas prices. The second spot, "Troops," suggested that Obama canceled his visit to a German military hospital because "the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras." Both claims were demonstrably false. I've already called McCain's "Troops" accusation "baseless." FactCheck.org says "Pump" is "absurd."

Sadly, however, a political ad doesn't have to be accurate to be effective. Just ask John Kerry.

Perhaps we haven't reached the tipping point. 2012?

Obama's retort