Several leading Republican strategists, both named and anonymous, were quoted Wednesday as slamming the latest in a string of bold attack ads on Barack Obama, this one overlaying images of the young senator with troubled trollops Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. “McCain ads are just catch as catch can, one wild swing at Obama after another,” one strategist told the Washington Post.
Washington Post, The Fix:
John McLaughlin, a Republican pollster, said the ad was effective but, in doing so, also offered an implicit criticism of the commercials that had come before it. “They need to have a stronger concentration of effort and focus on this issue and several subsequent issues to win a majority of the vote,” McLaughlin said. “Hopefully this is the start of an aggressive issues debate through election day.”
Other members of the Republican consultant community were far less sanguine in their estimate of the ad’s effectiveness.
“Sigh,” emailed one senior party strategist who later added: “Every Obama ad since his announcement has fit nicely into a theme, an argument. McCain ads are just catch as catch can, one wild swing at Obama after another. Their increasing bitterness reflects a campaign that is more about some sort of therapeutic frustration venting for the staff than any coherent strategy to elect McCain. It’s unprofessional to the core.”
Another high-level party operative grumbled: “It seems like they are talking to the press pack, not voters.”
None of the strategists The Fix spoke with predicted whether McCain’s change in tone toward Obama ultimately will succeed.
Much depends on whether—as the McCain campaign clearly believes—the average voter sees the Arizona Senator as a credible messenger or not. If voters know and trust McCain, then the critiques he is launching against Obama could well find fertile soil. If, on the other hand, McCain is less of a known commodity with voters, his attacks could well rebound against him—casting him as an angry politician trying to tear down a fresh face.
A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll—helpfully flagged by Post polling director Jon Cohen—shows that McCain may be treading on dangerous ground. Four in ten voters said that McCain had been attacking Obama unfairly while just more than two in ten say that Obama has attacked McCain unfairly.
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By Kurt, July 31, 2008 at 4:30 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
On the up side of the ad, Paris and Britney are much more popular than Obama or McCain and draw much more attention, so McCain may have done Obama a favor by linking him to them ... no matter what their problems, people LOVE the rich and and they adore music superstars and Paris is the first and Britney is the second.
Obama could do worse, I could do worse, and McCain’s people are stupid and old and out of touch.
Report thisBy cann4ing, July 31, 2008 at 4:23 pm #
TW: It’s happened twice. Check out the segment on whether McCain speaks for the campaign on “Countdown”
http://www.msnbc.msm.com/3036677/#25939338
Report thisBy Tony Wicher, July 31, 2008 at 1:40 pm #
cann4ing,
That IS funny. I never heard that one before!
Report thisBy cann4ing, July 31, 2008 at 1:20 pm #
The Rove surrogate McSame retained as his campaign manager didn’t learn from his dirty tricks lessons very well from his mentor. In past campaigns, when Rove set out to smear the opponent, he would always act behind-the-scenes through the “whispering” campaign—never directly from his client’s mouth. When Bush ran for governor against Ann Richards the behind the scenes whispering campaign where claims were made that Governor Richards had a lesbian on her staff—and it was falsely hinted that Richards was a lesbian. When Rove went after McSame in the So. Carolina primary, it was not from the mouth of George Bush, but from those supposedly not connected with the campaign who said the McCain’s had a black child (they had adopted a little Asian girl) and that McCain had suffered brain damage during his incarceration—naw, the guy was never very smart, finishing 894th in a class of 899 at the Naval Academy, and, of course, who can forget the Swift Boaters of 2004.
These idiots are so bent on trying to make this an election on the false picture they wish to paint of Obama as opposed to the abomination which is the Bush/McSame agenda that they have “I’m John McCain and I approve of this message” appended to their attack ads. And when McCain does slip up, they have even gone so far as to say that “John McCain does not necessarily speak for the McCain campaign”—I kid you not!
Report thisBy Tony Wicher, July 30, 2008 at 11:02 pm #
As Obama says, he’s a great counterpuncher. The political equivalent of Muhammad Ali. (Oh, no! did I just associate Barack Obama with a notorious Black Muslim?) He is the best ever at hanging political opponent’s negative attacks around their own necks. Rope-a-dope!
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, July 30, 2008 at 8:18 pm #
To bad the fastalk express has a failing memory.
People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/BlogFest/1097.html
Sorta reminds me of GWB’s brother who got caught up in the Silverado scam. These people and their families shouldn’t be around other peoples money.
Report thisBy cyrena, July 30, 2008 at 7:48 pm #
Their increasing bitterness reflects a campaign that is more about some sort of therapeutic frustration venting for the staff than any coherent strategy to elect McCain. Its unprofessional to the core.
Well, this is exactly what it is, and weve seen the same thing from Hillarys disgruntled and bitter supporters, as well as the racist and jealously resentful. Its some psychological phenomena that is clearly emotional and visceral. Has nothing to do with the substance of issues concerning the country. If they were going to be professional, and do any sort of professionally competitive type criticism, they could find legitimate things to question or otherwise disagree with on Obamas policies and positions. (not that it would help in this case, just because McCain is such a weak candidate).
..A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national pollhelpfully flagged by Post polling director Jon Cohenshows that McCain may be treading on dangerous ground. Four in ten voters said that McCain had been attacking Obama unfairly while just more than two in ten say that Obama has attacked McCain unfairly
Seems like they would have figured out that this is, (at least in part) what buried Hilary.
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