McCain's New "The One" Web Ad - What the Hell?
Posted by: Nick Krasney in Video, Obama, McCain, Demographics, Comedy, Ads on
Aug 03, 2008
McCain's campagn has come out with this new ad in order to highlight Obama's alleged arrogance, and sarcastically jab at his popularity and bombast as the root of a potential Messiah complex.
For McCain to do this would take advantage of early data that suggests that Obama's displaying presidential qualities this early on in the game causes some to percieve him as elitist/arrogant and would therefore energize them to support McCain, despite the fact that they might otherwise stay home. I'll post that data when I have time to find it.
But I'm not sure it's effective. John McCain's name appears at the end of it, but since it is not televised, McCain does not have to endorse this wholly sarcastic web ad himself. Still, take a look at each of the claims:
- "A nation healed, a world repaired."
- "We are the ones we've been waiting for."
- "I have become a symbol of America returning to its finest traditions."
- Obama has no doubts.
- "A light will shine down from somewhere...you will recieve an epiphany...I have to vote for Barack!"
- Something about the planet healing.
Then a clip from The 10 Commandments urging to "behold His mighty hand..."
And then it asks if this person "is ready to lead?"
Well, why the hell not? It's sarcastic, but what about it suggests that Obama isn't ready to lead, even if he is jumping the gun? Looking at the list, and then asking if Obama is ready to lead, makes me consider the converse of these things. So McCain stands for "a nation wounded, a world in disrepair?" Top-down politics? America not returning to its finest traditions?
Maybe that's why McCain doesn't allow his face in there. While this may help the short game, it is probably not a good idea for a Republican challenger who is trying to urge change in a different direction to confound proactive politics with arrogance. That will paint McCain into a sharp contrast with Obama, which would put him in league with an unpopular status quo.
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It does that in a very straight forward manner by just plainly asking the question at the very end, BUT prior to asking the question, it mocks Obama by portraying him as a presumptuous candidate. At the same time, it relies on religious imagery clearly trying to appeal to and anger religious conservatives by trying to demonstrate that Obama is so audacious that he even tries to equate himself to Jesus/The Messiah.
"The AUDACITY of that crazy liberal!" is what the ad is the message that the ad is essentially trying to say.
In that respect, the ad is a very effective one and at a minimum, kind of funny.