New McCain Ad: Obama May Be "The One"

UPDATE: The Obama campaign has reacted to McCain's latest ad starring him and Moses.
This time Obama didn't personalize the response. Much smarter than how he responded yesterday to the Britney-Paris ad.

From the Obama campaign:

"It's downright sad that on a day when we learned that 51,000 Americans lost their jobs, a candidate for the presidency is spending all of his time and the powerful platform he has on these sorts of juvenile antics," said spokesman Hari Sevugan. "Senator McCain can keep telling everyone how 'proud' he is of these political stunts which even his Republican friends and advisors have called 'childish', but Barack Obama will continue talking about his plan to jumpstart our economy by giving working families $1,000 of immediate relief."

The fallout over the Britney Spears-Paris Hilton celebrity ad only appears to have emboldened John McCain's new strategy to paint Barack Obama as a witless fad. McCain's latest ad ratchets up the celebrity comparisons by putting the Senator next to one of the biggest figures in time: Moses.

Obamaone1
by dollarsandsense123

McCain's strategy doesn't feel too different from a tactic Hillary Clinton used against Barack Obama in February when her campaign started to realize it wasn't going to fulfill its media-anointed mantle of inevitability. Hillary mocked Obama, telling the crowd "the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing, and everyone will know we should do the right thing, and the world will be perfect."

Making fun of Barack Obama as a Jesus figure obviously didn't help Hillary. That doesn't mean it can't help McCain. Unlike Hillary, the GOP candidate isn't the one explicitly making fun of Obama. When Hillary did it, people made fun of her. Yes, McCain's in the commercials, but only to approve them. By creating an ad campaign around mocking Obama, McCain is forcing him to comment and therefore make the ads a bigger deal. That's exactly what happened on Thursday when Obama commented on the Paris-Britney ad. Obama took the bait and did just what the McCain camp wanted him to do when he said McCain was saying he "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills." Obama's comment painted himself as different, a figure of race, a person who rose up by different means, perhaps even through celebrity... Let's see how the Obama campaign reacts to this one. (Update: Obama has responded. See above.)

ABC dissects the ad to show where the McCain camp is spinning "the one" out of context:

"We are the ones we've been waiting for," Obama says, in his Super Duper Tuesday speech in California.

The narrator continues: "And he has anointed himself, ready to carry the burden of The One. To quote Barack, 'I have become a symbol of America returning to our best traditions.'"

As we covered earlier in the week, that quote was actually Obama telling House Democrats that the big crowds and enthusiastic receptions he received in Europe had less to do with him than they had to do with a desire for a new U.S. foreign policy. In a way, it was more a statement of humility than arrogance.

"He can do no wrong," the narrator says.

Cut to an excerpt of CBS's Lara Logan asking Obama, "Do you have any doubts?"

"Never," Obama says, smiling.

"Can you see the light?" asks the narrator.

Comments

[rasthedestroyer]

they planted the seed earlier this week...... Thanx Dana. The retreads are working overtime, Karl Roves head must be about to explode...

[krocklin]

McCain has boiled his campaign slogans down to two issues: !) the Surge is a success 2) we need to drill for more oil, and mine more coal etc.

In other words the Republicans have only two issues and both are completely bogus. But McCain has decided to go along with them in tandem with one attack after another on Obama"s "character."

Polls show that the public really does think that drilling for more oil will bring down prices at the pump and that the Democrats are being obstructionist. And by a smaller margin in the polls they also believe that the Surge is working and could bring "victory".

So McCain's admen have figured this out and it seems to be working for them.

Obama just doesn't seem to be able to get "lift off". The pundits think he should "go negative"; but he really doesn't have to.

He just needs to hammer away at McCain's support for the war, favoring an invasion of Iran, state intervention in a woman's right to choose, his opposition to universal healthcare, alternative energy development, veterans' benefits, social security etc.

These are all losing issues for McCain. But instead Obama's always on the defensive. The media discusses nothing else but "who played the race card first" and is easily diverted from a real dialogue on the issues.

Hence Obama has been dropping in the polls.

It will come down to how effective Obama's ads are going to be. A duel on Madison Ave.

[afgail]

Obama's best tactic is to make sure the voters equate McCain as the third Bush term. The theme should be, "If you liked what Bush did to this country, you will love McCain. They both stubbornry cling to the same failed policies."

[UltraClassic]

The Christ Child, a Rock n Roll Fantasy and to some worshipers, a saint soon to be seen on tortillas, in the bark of trees and on the hoods of early model Chevys.

It's amazing this character does not float away, he is so full of hot air and himself.

[yankee452]

I'm not sure using Charlton Heston - who is dead (Moses) from a movie made in the 1950's will help McCain.

A sign of the generational struggle within this election that no one really focuses on.

[CaptHowdy]

People are inspired and excited by Obama for a reason: they think that if he wins, there's a very real chance that he'll get things done that they want like getting out of Iraq and a better health care system. These are things that a majority of Americans want.

When McCain mocks Obama because he gets people excited about the prospect of their lives getting better in very tangible ways (ending the war and health care, for example), what exactly is McCain saying?

McCain's message seems to be "vote for me, because I am an uninspired leader, I will give you none of the things you want, and you will stay cynical about things ever changing for the better in this country."

Is this really McCain's platform? Weird.

[Talwar]

That's pretty much the Republican platform. It's too bad that they forget that "The One" for them, Reagan was the only real celebrity.

[Dachozen1]

What in the #$%=^%^ is Barack doing with our money!!! Once again, the Dems are allowing the Repubs to paint its candidate before the candidate can introduce themselves. This is 2004 all over again elitist charge, inexperienced, unpatriotic and ... The more I listen to it, it reminds me of the campaign Hillary ran.

[Talwar]

The campaign is actually pretty good at dispelling rumors and false accusations. Obama has websites dedicated to avoid swiftboating. The only problem is that not every crummy ad that McCain puts out merits a response.

[bluescat47]

How hypocritical of the Republicans! We have experienced eight years of Republican arrogance, certitude, and lack of contrition for their colossal blunders in Iraq and elsewhere, yet they want to portray Obama as self-righteous? Are they kidding? Maybe some of Obama's rhetoric is over the top, and sometimes a tad overcharged, but he also hasn't polluted the public sphere with the evangelical, the God-is-always-on-our-side, the City on the Hill (Reagan), the Thousand Points of Light (Bush,Sr.),the God -told -me-what-to-in Iraq (Li'l Bush) slop that the conservatives regularly serve up from their trough. But as McCain couldnt win a charisma contest with the Maytag repair man, let alone Obama, I guess they are desperate.

[PrincessZelda]

It's been almost incredible that Mcain has been creating such ridiculous ads. It seems they are working to ensure his defeat. He forgets that many people actually like Paris and Britney, and he'll lose their votes, if he ever had them. He's been acting like a kid in junior high who is jealous of the kid who is a better athlete or better scholar or better speaker or more popular. He seems to forget that envy is one of the seven deadly sins, and that bearing false witness breaks the commandment, and so forth...
Maybe McCain really believes the ads are good for his campaign, but I don't see how he could think that. But even if he didn't see it, his 'people' would- but >they< are the ones making and airing the ads (and getting them aired for free).
There's a hypotheis or theory or idea going around, which is that the Republicans want Obama to win. And so McCain has to make sure he (McCain) loses.
This is just a wild idea- and a scary one- but maybe worth considering. Perhaps McCain has been told to totally blow it as much as possible. I mean, he's been reading his speeches, just looking up every so often. It's almost pitiful. It makes no sense. Unless there is something else going on and he is >supposed< to lose. I don't know. But it sure is strange the way McCain is doing things lately.

[land]

If the message seems stupid: think of the target audience.
i think they know exactly what they're doing. I'm sure all these ads are based on tons of research and are meant to hit just the right buttons.

On that note: that's actually something that freaks me out about the Obama campaign. That gorgeous, immaculate branding. Just the right mix of fonts with just the right shade of blue in the background. tasteful, contemporary, and hip. It's like im being sold a slick product. Obama: Mac, McCain: PC. it makes me a little suspicious. then again my mac totally delivers and is genuinely worth it.

Remember those Vacuum ads that mocked the popularity of Dysons? "my vacuum comes in purple" they tried to discredit by focusing on the superficial, and didn't address the fact that Dysons just work better. The message was: buy the ugly one cause at least it's not suspicious. This is exactly the same. McCain is the dust clogged bag trying to appeal to the masses by saying oh yeah? at least I'm badly designed, clumsily branded and unpopular.

[zeitgeist79]

I don't get how they spin "We are the one's we've been waiting for" into something negative when it is about all of us. That's not an arrogant statement, it's the opposite. He's saying it's not about me, it's about us. Isn't that pretty obvious.

Meanwhile, wasn't it John McCain's first biographical ad of the general election that stated "The American President America has been waiting for?" That's the arrogant statement that he is accusing Obama of making. And he approved that message.

[adamsmith]

Nancy Pelosi just tanked the entire Socialist Democratic party shutting down the oil vote to go on vacation...She just made McCain's job that much easier. Thanks Nancy, that means less Socialist Democrats seated after November 5.................

[alieninvader]

You just continue to vote against your own interests and for corporate socialism.

[KOisGod]

The OIL Vote..... - what was that capitalist? Another 11th hour GOP power grab for their overlords, the chieftains of OIL? Another giveaway to them, the last remaining wilderness acres GIVEN to them so they own EVERYTHING?

Let theM go drill on the millions of acres they already have, THEN come back to us for more. Greedy SOB'S.

[donkeydoodle]

Do you mean Social Democrats as in the European Union who are currently kicking our ass in terms of worlwide influence, energy efficiency, transportation, education, health care, income distibution, social mobility, etc. Do you mean Social Democrats as in the EU whose Euro is replacing the Bush dollar worldwide as the standard currency of trade and whose value is on the verge of doubling the Bush dollar.

Look around and open your eyes and you will see an America brought to its knees by the reckless spending and behavour of your criminal team. But you probably can't see thru your POWER OF PRIDE sticker on the back of your Hummer. Jeez you crony capitalists are unbelievable!

I'd rather be a Social Democrat than a Fascist Republican any day.

By the way Adam Smith hasn't been relevant for at least 100 years.

[luvangelHussein330]

I invisin McKeatingFive losing alot of Christians behind this add

[Texas4Obama]

John McCain owes an apology to Senator Obama, Maria Shriver, and the American people!

[RJII]

MCCain the Anti-Christ

[Yesnik]

The funny thing is that McCain is the same age as Moses !!!