The McCain camp released a harsh new ad Friday that, playing off of the idea that Obama is an out-of-touch celebrity, suggests -- through the very cadence of the narrator -- that the Illinois Democrat will tax away the life savings of senior citizens.
Titled "Painful," the spot is an extension of the celebrity meme that John McCain has been hitting on for more than a week. This installation, however, may be the harshest and most personal yet.
Life in the spotlight must be grand, but for the rest of us times are tough.
Obama voted to raise taxes on people making just $42,000.
He promises more taxes on small business, seniors, your life savings, your family.
Painful taxes, hard choices for your budget. Not ready to lead. That's the real Obama.
There are some noticeable and/or objectionable aspects to the ad. McCain is not mentioned once, continuing an attack-based mode that for a brief moment this week seemed to be ebbing. The claim that Obama voted to raise taxes on people making more than $42,000 comes with a caveat. The Budget Resolution that Obama voted for and McCain now highlights was a provision to allow portions of the 2001 And 2003 Tax Cuts to expire. Taxes would have gone up. But it was not a vote to raise taxes.
UPDATE: The Obama campaign responds
"This ad is a lie, and it's part of the old, tired politics of a party in Washington that has run out of ideas and run out of steam. Even though a host of independent, nonpartisan organizations have said this attack isn't true, Senator McCain continues to lie about Senator Obama's plan to give 95% of all families a tax cut of $1,000, and not raise taxes for those making under $250,000 a single dime. The reason so many families are hurting today is because we've had eight years of failed Bush policies that Senator McCain wants to continue for another four, and that's what Barack Obama will change as President," said Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan.
The ad is going to be cycled into a buy the McCain campaign has already made in
Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.