Wonkette
Barack Obama has taken off his gloves again and this is what we have, America: a goofy ad that points out John McCain can’t use a computer. The ad itself is so double-reverse-bizarro-meta ironic that it features that lame cursive font your local PTA likes to use on bake sale flyers. If this is their national media strategy, then we should all hope that the Obama team’s vaunted “ground game” is as sharp as ever. ["Still" Ad]
THIS IS THEM BEING MEAN????
We are screwed.
Crappy ad as it makes everyone think of 1982, when Reagan was in office. This, of course, makes everyone think of the namby-pamby Dumocrat that Reagan replaced and then everyone realizes that Obambi is just another Carter, except taller and more swarthy.
Nice try my muslim extremist friend. Perhaps an apology at the end from Barry for 9/11 would have been in order as well.
P.S. Did they even still have disco balls back in ‘82? I demand a fact check!
We can hope the ground game will have it. I guess. Maybe.
In funnier news, Linc Chaffee, my favorite (former) R, called Caribou Barbie a “cocky wacko.”
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/nation/ny-ussara125839434sep12,0,4377263.story That’s what Bar needs, some former R’s dissing Johnny and CB! They do it way better.
I hear John McCain sucks at Photoshop, too.
All the people who can’t use a computer are going to be offended, in other words, old people who wouldn’t vote for brown person if their life depended on it. This ad does nothing.
Barry just doesn’t do mean. Can’t we just let Barry be Barry?
Monsieur Grumpe: My parents are way older than Walnuts, and THEY can use a computer. Also, they are for Barry. So, I guess that makes them unAmerican Senior Americans?
This looks like an ad made in Windows Movie Maker by the Obama ground game. What is he spending my $5 on?
rambone: Yes. See “Saturday Night Fever.”
One of the worst ads I have ever seen. This is so below Barack. WTF!
Monsieur Grumpe: My 75 year old mother blogs - fer Chrissakes!
Awww, that’s not mean! Tell everyone he sides with NAMBLA on not telling kindergarteners how to avoid pedophiles! Shit, tell them he has no idea how to protect YOUR CHILDREN and YOUR IDENTITY from getting fucked online, if you want the technology angle.
I see now we’ll have to do this ourselves. Volunteers?
Barry can’t pull the trigger because he believes in an America that doesn’t exist.
He listens to people talk about what they want, but he doesn’t see what they actually do, what they actually buy. Look at that fucking Fox in a Hole show last night. Obama is trying to be dignified in a nation that threw out its dignity around 1982.
I have a theory that the Obama campaign set out to have a clean, candid campaign, if only because they have no fucking clue how to fight. This bothers me tremendously.
Also, nothing says upper-class like two hands toasting champagne independent of their host bodies.
Ha! It’s funny because McCain is really, really old. And they pretended to be saying he was “out of touch” like Bush, but actually just pointed out that he was really, really old.
Nah, not mean at all, lame yes, mean not even, they should have gone with the clip of McOld on the campaign trail stuffin his cake hole with a hotdog when some hack reporter asked him if he were really olny five seven, whoa, McOld went from cow lookin cud chewer to arm and leg flailin red face Damndoll and commenced to spew bits and pieces of white bun and ball park steak and speak in tongue. There were ten or twelve evangelical people at the table with him and they translated, their versions were all different, but the gist of his buffet oratory was that he had never been five seven in his life and moreover, anybody over five five takes it up the ass.
We can be snarky about this, but, isn’t this the sort of ad the mouth-breathers will “get”? I dunno, I can’t really tell what makes them tic. Perhaps I had too much arugula this morning, but this seems like an effective commercial for the non-elite crowd. Correct me if I’m wrong…
lowercasejames: Toasting champagne? Is this some new trend? Where is that wine blog guy when you need him?
McCain doesn’t understand the economy?! Who does?
I dunno, I thought it wasnt bad. Alot of kicks to the groin, like the shot of McCain looking old even in 1982, and stepping out of the golf cart like your grampa down in Del Boca Vista. Worked for me!
…ok Barry, its kinda past the point of calling WALNUTS! “old”. We are now in the realm of dabbling in black magic and voodoo.
Peoples, per the NYT today, the Obama campaign is planning a series of escalating attacks that will reach its crescendo on election day. Or within the following week, at the very latest.
McCain’s response: “When I was imprisoned and tortured in Vietnam, we didn’t have computers, shemales, an economy, or even a rubik’s cube. Nor did the victims of 9/11.”
Dr. Feelquestionable: “I can’t really tell what makes them tic.”
Black babies. Watch, right before the election there are going to be a shitload of ads suggesting that Barry has not one, but two black babies. The election will be over from that moment.
zkemeny: To me, that was the BEST part — even in 1982, McCain looked like an old, out-of-touch, “Hey You Get off My Lawn!” sterreotype.
…in all honesty Barry might want to stay out of the business of negative ads, especially when he isn’t all that good at it. Previously I was a strident advocate of giving McCain some of his own medicine, but now I know why they were so reluctant to respond. Because they are shitty at it!!! If he is going to take the high road, he is going to have to FLOOD the airwaves with positive policy based commercials. Not just one or two here and there, he needs to throw open the war chest and “go all in”. If he does that then he will be able draw a very distinct contrast between John McCain the “status quo” and Barack Obama the agent of “change(TM)”.
Jesus, please tell me this isn’t going on television.
rambone: Even worse, they’re a quarter white. Or so I hear. I mean, what, America is some sort of melting pot now?
Why is it that whenever Barack takes his gloves off, he reveals soft and supple hands?
I want the ad that says “Shitty Pilot Does Not a War Hero Make.”
I kind of enjoyed the ad … I was waiting for Hee-Haw or Love American Style to resume after it.
So basically WALNUTS! hair has been white my entirelife. Also, this ad is right up there with that crappy “San Francisco values” ad the Missouri Republicans put out. You can do better Barry.
how soon until the GOP releases an ad with O doing what he was doing in 82?
I once read a story about some old-world pater familias who made his children throw kittens into a furnace to teach them toughness. Barry could start by stepping on a few more ants on the sidewalk and work his way up to shooting wolves from a helicopter.
I think they should have just left out the e-mail bit and come up with a stronger image of “corporations” than the stupid champagne glasses. The rest of the message isn’t that hard-hitting, but it’s not terrible.
McCain didn’t have cell phone coverage for FIVE AND A HALF YEARS.
“John McCain don’t know about all this new-fangled technology!” won’t play too well out in Bitter Country. The more old-timey he looks, the more “traditional, old-fashioned values” he appears.
How about…
“John McCain doesn’t want kindergartners to know what a ‘bad touch’ is and what they should do if they get one. Why does John McCain want your son to be molested by a Catholic priest?”
or…
“John McCain picked a running mate who’s friends with a secessionist group. Why does John McCain hate America and want to remove a star from Old Glory?”
alternatively…
“John McCain doesn’t think much of people that try to organize their community to improve it. Why does John McCain hate your pastor and Jesus?”
Hell, even this would be something: “John McCain doesn’t support our nation’s lesbians. Why is John McCain trying to ruin your chance for a three-way?”
Let’s not pretend pointing out McCain’s age is a good thing after Palin. I’m sure there’s a column of their supporters that are COUNTING on his death from cholera leading the opening campaign in the Second Spanish-American War. Then it’s Vagina in the White House Time. Aww yeah girlfriendzzz!
RadioFreeBabylon: “You know why John McCain wants to increase defense spending? Because pilots like John McCain cost tax payers millions of dollars in lost and damaged equipment. Before John McCain screwed up and flew his plane into a lake in Viet Nam, he burned down an aircraft carrier, killing dozens of non-fuck up service men. John McCain’s brothers in arms breathed a quiet sigh of relief when John McCain didn’t come back from that mission…”
hahahaha… oh, that would be evil and wrong, but funny
AngryBlakGuy: …in addition; WALNUTS! has lost the media! After being strung along during the Vice President selection process, attacking their (fair) vetting of Palin and then hiding Palin in a “secure and undisclosed location” for two weeks they are pissed. The press, not the Obama campaign is debunking most of McCains commercials and calling them lies and distortions. All Obama needs to do is keep pumping out his message and the press will do his job for him.
AngryBlakGuy: Exactly. Personal attacks get you exactly nowhere. Plus, as you said, the hideous, evil GOP war machine just does it better. Stay out of their sandbox. You have your own and it’s called “real world issues.”
Who does advertising seek to reach? The undecideds. The only votes which have yet to be solidified. This ad plays only to those who already lurve them some tall drink o’ hot chocolate. Going negative in a personal way turns off undecideds. Getting suitably pissed that the other side is ignoring areas of vital interest to those undecideds (the economy, housing, education, not nuking Russia) is how to move them.
I think people are upset because this ad isn’t angry…good. If he makes an angry ad, then all the mouth breathers would talk about how Barack baby is losing his cool. Us elitist are angry, and so we want as much vitriol as you can spew in 30 seconds…that will just let them get inside our heads, though.
Right now, like a great poker player, Barack is playing a head game, and showing that the wackos have got nothing on him.
McCain’s 1982-era combover should have gotten him indicted for crimes against humanity.
Dinosaurs. I think they should have had a picture of a dinosaur, instead of a brick phone. You can’t be too obvious with this mouth-breather crowd.
And taxes, they need to get these people to understand that they will pay less in taxes under Barry the Benevolent. So what we need is an ad with one of these aforementioned mouth-breathers, say auto mechanic Joe, and show how much he will save on taxes under Barry and have him standing next to his new flat screen TV bought with the proceeds.
Whaddya think?
AngryBlakGuy: We hope. That and the ground game. Meanwhile, some documented “Bradley Effect” to make you want to kick something and drink:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/12/obama_doubts/
ABG, your faith in the press is touching. we’ll see …
Guppy06: You’ve got some gold in there. I actually think that the one about going on the attack over educating children regarding what a “bad touch” is and instructing them to seek out an adult immediately could be useful, if the McCain ad gets more traction. I’d probably go with a less humorous close, of course. Something along the line of: Obama supported protecting your children. Why doesn’t McCain?
Well, I take offense at Obama mocking that classic DEC VT100 terminal!
Ken Olsen does NOT approve of your commercial!
Nasara: Are you saying they’re trying to get us to come over to the dark side? “Good! Use your anger. Take your weapon and strike me down with all of your hatred!”
Hey, my mother can’t use E-mail, but she does use lipstick.
Is Obama calling my mother a pig now???
I’m sorry for asking but is WALNUTS! sporting a pubic stash and a combover?
Keating Five, anyone?
Whats with Donna Reed on the phone? They couldn’t get Zach Morris?
geeze Sara, criticizing the font selection? sounds kind of elitist to me. i mean, what do you want? verdana? bookman old style?
Cogito Ergo Bibo:
I’d say go even further and make it the Willie Horton of this election — surely there’s some WALNUTS!-killed legislation that has some tenuous relationship to a scary, scary man who went on a rampage?
Not statistics. Not “a 150% jump in crime” or whatever. Really damn personal.
You all realize that not everyone spends their entire lives obsessively following on the minutae of Web-based political campaigning, right? Why would Obama need a rapid-response team or negative ads when he has the blogosphere?
capitol hillbilly: They need a whole series of apps on the Keating Five… Play up how McCain and his buddies cost the country $30+ Billion
He just did this to freak us out. Like at the beginning of that “Team America” movie where the puppet looks really crappy and you’re all wtf but then the camera pans up to show the real puppet. We’ll get a real ad next time.
That or we’re doomed.
Cogito Ergo Bibo: No, the more I think about it, the more I think it’s important to hold onto the anti-lesbian angle. If Democrats are going to be “the party that wants to take away your guns,” it’s high time the Republicans get justly described as “the party that wants to take away your porn.” Focus on how the economy is hurting our nation’s finer entertainment establishments, how John Ashcroft didn’t want you to see any titties, and heavily imply that something is going on between John, Cindy and Sarah while the rest of us can just have what “trickles down” after they completely filter the internet and outlaw Girls Gone Wild.
Make 2008 about “Guns or Lap Dances” and you’ll finally get some traction and get the voter turnout over 70 %.
what a putrid pathetic advertisement. maybe it will help with those fashion morans interviewed by Liz a few days ago.
here’s an ad: Voice: “The Republicans have been in charge for many years.” Show a series of pictures of Gingrich, Cunningham, Ken Lay, Abramoff, Ney, Mark Foley, Dennis Hastert, Larry Craig, Cheney, Rummy, Gonzales, Phil Gramm, etc. etc. etc. Show some images of closed factories, families hugging soldiers deploying for a 5th straight time, some people speaking in tongues, the Constitution being put through a paper shredder, bin Laden and cronies chuckling, and then Walnuts saying “Maybe a hundred years” or “There will be more wars”. End with a crying bald eagle.
grendel: For fuck’s sake please bring up the Keating 5! What could be more relevant right now with the government takeovers of out-of-control greedy institutions than the Keating 5?
capitol hillbilly: I brought up K5 to a mouth-breathing R neighbor. “Yeah, you had to go back 20 years to something insignificant on JSM, the Hero!” I said, “Hmm, yeah, and you had to go back 41 years to call him a HERO, so fair is fair.” He’s still sputtering.
shoeho: Agreed: the Demtards should be saying “cocky” often.
lazyb: Agree-agree-agree!
McCain=Keating=Bush
Guppy06: I think you have something here. Stoppin’ babykillin’ is one thing, but with porn being a $10billion+ industry in this country, ya gotta figure some of the mouth breathers are watching.
Norbert: win!
A Matthew McConaughyesque “Time to Kill” commercial…
Obama..imagine he’s white.
Palin…imagine she’s black.
(But does white trash trump black???)
shoeho: Hell yes he has something. We are talking about a total redefinition of the “silent majority.”
dagnabbit! why didn’t barry show us dem internet tubes that the kindly senator from alaska talked about not long ago?
capitol hillbilly: …to be honest I’m cynical about this whole election process. But Barry needs to play to his strengths and being “negative” is sure as hell not one.
after 2004 this seems really weird to say, but I think Barry should take a cue from Kerry and use the “Senator McCain/Candidate McCain” shtick in an ad. That’s just mean enough, without being completely f’ing ridiculous.
If you want wars, McCain is your man. McCain says, “I know how to win wars.” “I can achieve Victory in Iraq, I can get BinLaden, I know how.” Show McCain singing bomb, bomb, bomb, Iraq. Make people believe war is certain with a McCain/Palin vote……….end showing the quote with Palin saying war with Russia. That would be a great commercial.
How out of touch must McCain be if he’s disco dancing under a mirrorball in ‘82? And he stole Zack Morris’ phone, the decrepit crook.
http://thesebastards.blogspot.com/
Idiot, he’s alienating voters. There are many people across this wide nation that aren’t tech savvy (my madea being one of them). It really is risky. I’m not even joking. I’m not great with computers, I find it a bit offensive.
I can’t work a rubik’s cube either. Stupid elitist.
Rubik’s cube was the original POW torture technique … who knew
Oh god. This is going to backfire. This links McCain to the “good old days” Why did they use nostalgia symbols that Americans love. They must fire whoever did this. My stomach hurts now.
OkieHookerinEngland: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH, better yet, Obama is the astronomer in “Contact” and is zipped through a worm hole and finds McOld on a beach. But, instead of having a tenth level conversation with old yellow teeth, Obama returns in a nano or two and reports that he saw tuna, I mean put McOld’s face on Charlie Tuna, not much difference. Matter of fact, you could grab Charlie Tuna by the tail and pound out McOld cookies.