Subscribe by RSSAds and Money: Voters Voting with Their Wallets
After the McCain campaign released several ads attacking Obama’s character, news sources took positions on them. The most recent response has come from Obama supporters themselves. After the first ad was released, the Obama campaign sent out emails to their supports, urging them to donate in defiance of these tactics. According to Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe, they received over 100,000 donations from the email request on July 31, 2008. One third of these contributions came from first-time donors.
Similar to the ad response by the Obama campaign, Plouffe characterizes McCain’s ads as similar politics of yesteryear, and that the recent flood of donors indicates that they want a “different kind of politics.” This surge in donations was similar to the surges during the Democratic primary when candidates went negative on Obama.
However, McCain is not backing down with his attack ads. In an interview with Diane Sawyer of ABC News, McCain explained that the ads contained a level of humor that should be expected, and an important critique of Obama’s policies:
The McCain campaign’s ads comparing Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., to those figures may have prompted a chuckle, but Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told ABC News’ Diane Sawyer he’s dead serious about the issues in the ads.
“We’ll continue to have humor in our campaigns,” McCain said. “Those ads really were focused on two things. They were focused on the fact that Sen. Obama wants to raise taxes, and I’m opposed of it. And he opposes an energy policy which would work, including offshore drilling. So the message there is there’re stark differences between myself and Sen. Obama.”
But McCain wasn’t done joking, either.
“I kind of enjoy ‘em,” McCain said of the ads. “You gotta have a sense of humor in this.
“You know, a few days ago, Sen. Obama said he challenged me to a duel,” McCain said. “I’m for the light sabers as weapons of choice.”
It is yet to be determined how successful McCain’s ads will be. Real Clear Politics has showed very little movement in the last week between the two candidates. However, if the donations continue to flow in for Obama, McCain will need more than a dose of humor.
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
Loading ...Visit the You Decide 2008 Store »
Loading ...
light sabers?
McCain would f*** Obama up in a fight no doubt about it. I never believe the Obama campaign. Saying they got 33,000 new donations in a day, maybe that was from some of those lobbies who have payed 100,000$ to him.
Wow O_S… “I never believe the Obama campaign”? Sorry, that’s just a bad way to approach politics. Politics is about looking past the facades and focusing on the facts, not assuming that every single thing a campaign says is wrong.
About the ad, I can’t help but find it funny that despite their purported plethora of donations the ad seems so low budget. I mean, it doesn’t even seem like there’s a cameraman. It suggests that while the volume of donors might be high, the average donation was around the ballpark of a quarter.
Of course, that’s assuming that they weren’t going for the grassroots feel anyways.
Obama_Sucks: I think that you and I need to become best friends.
I think that Obama’s campaign is seriously overstating the amount of money that he has raised.
I love how the mainstream media is being ever so alert to the tone of negative campaigning that has been going on these days. This is the same mainstream media that relishes in violent news and exploits the worst in human nature to get good raitings. Now, when their “golden boy” novelty candidate Obama is in the midst of a NORMAL campaign they rush to his aid, accusing McCain of being some bully who is taking the low road.
This campaign, esspecially the Primary, was TAME and rather civil. I’ve seen nastier poitical blood baths. People are supposed to disagree, and the character and motive of your opponent is fair game. That’s just the way that it is. If you don’t like it, don’t run for President.
The media focuses more on the number of personal attacks waged by John McCain rather than the validity of the attacks. Ever think that John McCain might have a point every once and a while?
While I feel that Obama is a vapid moron who is obsessed with himself, my main problem is and always was the media. They sheild and protect him from any criticism that might stick with voters. He gets away with murder and is never questioned when he outright lies or flip flops.
The media is clever in covering the news this way. They know that they can define the attacks from McCain by branding them as “bad” before they hit voters.
They can say, “look at how nasty and low brow McCain is…look at how upbeat and positive Obama is…”. This way the attack by McCain is already spun as a low blow that is not worth listening to. People are less likely to pay them any mind, and the Messiah is left intact.
McCain has the right to call Obama’s relatively unknown character into question. The media needs to do more invastigating. Stop trying to annoit Obama as the King of America!
Raymond
Not even the facts displayed about the media will convince you will it? Oh i guess that is still the media shielding Obama.
There is a ton of damaging things that isn’t being covered on McCain. Oh and how about editing out things so McCain looks ever better?
http://www.youtube.com/wa.....b_zliLtI2E
O.S. you think that a 71 year old man who can’t lift his arms above his shoulders will beat a 46 year old man who works out sometimes twice a day in a fight? Ok.
Just read the McCain lightsaber part.
Challenging Obama to a lightsaber duel is totally unfair- senior citizens totally rock the lightsaber. Remember that old guy who shot lightning out of his hands? Even Samuel L. Jackson didn’t stand a chance against that, and that dude could fight. Then there’s Yoda- that guy could lightsaber in loops and twirls, although his lightsaber was a little short (Old guy lightsabers aren’t as big and thick, I guess).
And those two were only like a thousand years old- stack their ages up to McCain’s and no contest- McCain could take both of them in three seconds flat.
Obama would be wise to turn that offer to duel down- c’mon man, use the force. Don’t forget how badly Samuel was beaten.
——————————————————–
Sorry if I offended any of McCain’s contingent. My 103 fever speaks in my defense. Besides, “you got to have a sense of humor in this”
Oh, I think the light saber quip was a definite reference to “Obama - Jedi Master”. It was hilarious as well. *L*
http://www.youtube.com/wa.....3_jh2dO78U
Babs
I think McCain’s Moses ad is the funniest.
http://www.youtube.com/wa.....d1IKJGVkvg
I don’t know how many times I have watched it.
And I’ve probably dragged 5 people in front of a p.c. to see it.
All they have to do is take out the debunked quote and they can keep it going.
Seemed more suitable coming from Jon Steward but still funny.
Gray, let’s not forget that the old guy shooting lightning out of his hands was an evil emperor…
Dreadsen, I think the candidates ads themselves are the best, I was just referring to the light saber comment, I think that is where it comes from.
I read this morning that Obama has out a new ad pushing a windfall profits tax again. That should make for another great ad for McCain - a comparison of Obama and Carter. Really, the windfall profits tax was a disaster when Carter did it, no one will support another one. Why would Obama even bring it up again?
I have seen the ad, but here’s what I read:
“Obama’s spot trumpets his proposal to revive a windfall profits tax on energy companies and asserts that McCain favors tax breaks for the oil industry.
“A windfall profits tax on big oil to give families a thousand-dollar rebate,” an announcer in the ad says.
Obama has pushed for such a tax to fund $1,000 emergency rebate checks for consumers besieged by high energy costs.
Congress enacted a windfall profits tax in 1980, during an earlier era of high oil prices, but repealed it in 1988 amid concerns the tax was discouraging domestic oil development. Last year, the House approved $18 billion in new taxes on the largest oil companies, but they were blocked by Republicans in the Senate.
The new Obama ad opens with a driver pumping gas. The announcer says, “Every time you fill your tank, the oil companies fill their pockets.”
Republicans were quick to pounce.
“Barack Obama’s latest attack ads shows his celebrity is matched only by his hypocrisy,” said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds. “After all it was Senator Obama, not John McCain, who voted for the Bush-Cheney energy bill that was a sweetheart deal for oil companies. Also not mentioned is the $400,000 from big oil contributors that Barack Obama has already pocketed in this election.”
Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said Michigan Republicans planned to go to Obama’s Lansing event to pass out tire gauges engraved with “Obama’s Energy Plan.” That pokes fun at the part of Obama’s energy plan calling for people to inflate their tires to the highest correct pressure to help conserve fuel.
Obama aides said the new ad began running on Monday in markets around the country.
Obama has said recently that he would reluctantly consider accepting some new offshore oil drilling. Obama previously opposed any offshore drilling.”
Since news on real issues is getting a little scarce onsite, I thought I’d share it.
Well, how interesting. Now that Hillary’s out of the picture, Obama thinks Michigan and Florida should be counted. *ROFLMAO*
“WASHINGTON — Now that Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination for president, he wants convention delegates from Florida and Michigan to have full voting rights at the party’s national convention.
Obama sent a letter Sunday to the party’s credentials committee, asking members to reinstate the delegates’ voting rights when the committee meets at the start of the convention.”
By “different kind of politics,” do they mean no longer standing up for your separate view, but flocking blindly to a supposed Messiah?
I’m really disappointed that Obama didn’t agree to McCain’s proposed “town hall meetings.” Perhaps if he did, there would be more civil, productive conversations, as opposed to meaningless TV ads.
Robert, good point. With Obama keeping McCain at arm’s length on that score, it would seem the ads are about the only way to call the man out. As I’ve said before, also, I think the ads are aimed more at the mainstream media and their love affair with Obama than anything else. And when the ad “Celeb” registered over 1.2 millions hits on Youtube just 48 hours after its posting, I think maybe it might say there are a lot of people who are in agreement with them.
It’s so funny.. I honestly think that McCain is trying to capture a youthful zeal and add it to his campaign via “HUMOR”.
However, his attempts are infantile and make this distinguished man come of as a bitter child who’s completely jealous of the new kid on the block.
I had nothing against McCain until he started this new campaign tactic. I didn’t agree with many of his views and I wasn’t going to vote for him, but I didn’t have an opinion on the man himself.
My outlook on him as possibly being a competent (if not my ideal) President has been changed. If he is standing there and trying to justify the bad idea that these adds are- then I worry about the other bad decisions he could make if put into the White House.
P.S.
OBAMA CAN WALK ON WATER & DODGE BULLETS FROM AGENTS IN THE MATRIX, AND HIS TEARS, OH… THEY ARE MAGIC (STRONGER THAN THAT OF A GYPSY’S) IT’S TRUE BECAUSE MCCAIN SAID SO.
I think it’s kinda funny that Obama can keep McCain at arms length but McCain can’t keep Obama at arms length…LOL
Babs, just because someone watched something doesn’t mean they agree with it, it’s called curiosity. I once watched a documentary about clubbing seals an Alaska but I don’t agree with it.
What McCains campaign is trying to do is the same dirty muck smearing gutter political tactics that Bush did in 2000 and 2004 and I was hoping McCain was above all that.
nz, I don’t think McCain can ignore the major media bias toward Obama. He had a choice, let the media tell us how to vote, or get out there and get people’s attention on the subject. As I said, I think the ads are more geared towards addressing the media bias than anything else.
I agree with you on the viewing point, and curiosity is what I was addressing. What I was remiss in mentioning was that if you go over to McCain’s youtube page and look at the number of views he has gotten on his first ads, and then look at the number of views on these latest ads, you see a difference so stark it can’t be ignored. McCain has finally garnered media attention - in spite of the media itself. And he has to do that, Obama and the media has left him no choice.
McCain can’t attack the media and then expect the media who he’s just attacked to do him any favours. It worked with Clinton because there is a Democratic TV media bias and they couldn’t be seen favouring one Democrat more than another, but it’ll not work with a Republican because they’ll just throw McCain under a bus.
On the whole though I’m finding both candidates ads to be a little weak and haven’t seen one yet that really grabs the voter by the balls and tells them unequivocally why they should vote for them.
Me, either. Maybe we’ll see something new during the Olympics. I understand Obama made a $5 million buy, and McCain answered with a $6 million buy on ads. Should be interesting.
How many of you are paying attention to this? (Or participating in it)
http://www.youtube.com/wa.....UuhKJYFUfg
To be honest I wasn’t, but now you’ve pointed it out it probably could do with a thread all itself.
C.S.
No one wants to pay any attention to that.
Because there are too many people who defend the right to break
all the laws and remove our civil liberties for the sake of party affiliation dedication.
I have been following it. And noticing how the Democrats and Republicans seem to want to let all this power go to the next person. It will just be a snowball effect.
I want to see the same people who attack the Democrats to attack them for not following up on the investigation of the crimes that have been committed.
Nancy Pelosi has protesters where ever she goes for turning a blind eye. This alone may divide their party.
Obama has made statements that when he gets into office he will look into crimes being committed but he double talked it by saying that he doesn’t want things to look like a partisan witch hunt.
I really don’t trust him to get in the position of commander in chief and expect him or any human to decide to take away power from themselves.
But people would rather see this happen then attack the policies which will create this because they are lock step with what ever their Party says.
Here are protesters clashing with Pelosi at her book signing on 8-11-2008
http://www.youtube.com/wa.....4UwOTsoV3c
Why aren’t the Obama attackers attacking him for this?
Obama will let “Bush’s Crimes Remain Buried For All Time”
http://www.youtube.com/wa.....4v2Z8RF_Dc
He flip flopped here.
http://www.huffingtonpost.....96690.html
McCain didn’t flip flop on this issue because he thinks breaking laws and violating constitution is fine as you can pin some noble reason for doing so. He never made any statement about looking into crimes committed by Bush.