Politicsoffshore drillingPoliticsgas-tax-holiday

Campaign AdWatch: Shaken, But Not Stirred

Campaign AdWatch: Shaken, But Not Stirred
Jason Linkins
By 

Eat The Press Editor, HuffPost

Well, let's start with the good. From a style standpoint, this latest ad from John McCain is a quantum leap ahead of his more recent ads. And I know that many people are going to mock the effort, saying that he's making the sort of cultural references - Connery-era James Bond and bright, jazzy graphics from yesteryear - that you'd expect from an old man who's forgotten where he's put his bearings. But the ad is retro in a very chic and clever way. And, I'll remind you, Ian Fleming is something that's actually older than John McCain. But, on substance, this ad is just
terrible
. And again, it's pretty clueless tactically. The ad, which presents Obama as the "Dr. No" of energy policy, captures Obama saying, "Offshore drilling would not lower gas prices today," which is actually
true
, and what's more, McCain knows it, and has even said so as recently as, uhm...
two days ago
. The ad also repeats Obama's opposition to a "gas tax holiday," an issue that Obama has continually won on throughout the year. Now, there are plenty of people - even Obama supporters - that will probably disagree with Obama on his opposition to nuclear power. If only
the actual Dr, No had
! James Bond could have skipped ahead to
From Russia With Love
! And, finally, I have to say, I never thought the day would come where I'd see a politician accused of being the reason we don't all have electric cars. I watched
that ad where McCain took a trip to the year 2013
and he never said anything about electric cars! In the year 2013, I expect to be commuting by water-powered jetpack, myself! Anyway, look for future ads from McCain, accusing Obama of opposing "thunderballs" and "moonrakers."
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