Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Obama's Prime Time Campaign Ad: A 'G-Free Zone

Well, I was kind of expecting something else from Obama's ad tonight. I was expecting it to be more of an "address to the nation" - sure, talking about the campaign, but also addressing the economy as would (and should) a President.

Maybe it wasn't the time for that.

Instead, what we got was a kind of Reader's Digest Version of the Democratic Convention. It was repleat with a bio movie, common folks and their problems, testimonials from Democrats, and an acceptance speech at the end. Call it the thirty-minute Obama Presidential campaign for those voters who've been asleep for the past 20 months.

Was it effective?

It certainly didn't hurt, I would say. Obama struck all the right themes: emphasizing the middle class, the economy, jobs, healthcare, education, energy, and voters from swing states, along with tidbits from his biography. Also a nice exhortation for supporters to get out and "knock on doors, call phones, and vote."

Most important, it was nicely positive. No negative attacks, no mention of McCain. Why give that dude free prime-time mention on Obama's dime? Perhaps that was the best call.

If there are any voters who still don't know much about Obama's platforms and haven't made up their minds - and astonishingly, there seems to be some of those voters still out there - I'd say this video got an A.

Most effective thing? Obama's learned how to drop his g's, saying thing like goin' instead of going, etc., and effecting a slightly southern twang. All pretty calculated to reach low-attention-span swing voters in middle America who are looking for someone to have a beer with.

In six days, we'll find out how well that worked.

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