Ads Spoof McCain Inner Sanctum

A few years ago, there was this show on the teevee called The West Wing, and before it descended into a miasma of besotted depressives, Ecstasy kidnappings, and Josh Lyman yelling at the Capitol Dome like some sort of deranged wolfman, it was a winsome and earnest story about a bunch of well-intended, if often error-prone idealists who believed in the redemptive power of public service. Honestly, it was all a little too elevated in tone, but it sort of made you wish that those were the sorts of people who actually ran the country, instead of the venal, goggle-eyed influence whores that really do.

Of course, seeing as it was on the air whilst the nation was deep in the throes of the Bush administration, I used to wonder to myself what the show would look like if you replaced the fictional Bartlet administration with a gaggle of cynical nimrods who enjoyed the practice of grand deception and spoke to the American people as if they were two-year-olds. We'll never know what Aaron Sorkin might have done with that idea, but a recent series of ads produced by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and directed by Craig Gillespie come closest by imagining what it may be like to witness a McCain strategy session.

People will likely enjoy the laughs embedded in "A Fly On The Wall," in which the word "maverick" loses all meaning:

But for my money, this clip, in which Karl Rove's restraint is the topic of discussion, is the strongest indictment.

[See also: This clip - about the economy of offshore drilling. And this one, in which the question is asked, "Where does one go to buy a gag."

Comments

[aznurse]

How did you get this documentary made?

[Whiteneck]

One could ask:
(1) John McCain is funded/endorsed by the Annenberg Foundation project in which Ayers was a board member. Isn't McCain a terrorist by his own standard?
(2) Is not Palin a secessionist, a terrorist, who wants to "infiltrate the US Government" at the command of Alaska Independence Party and break or destroy America. Palin has a strong Iran ties, too: http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/10/07/palins_unamerican/
(3 McCain-Palin are inciting a lynch mob for assassinating Obama; therefore, are they not terrorists?
(4) McCain voted against making anti-choice violence a federal crime. He supported in 1993/1994 "bombings, arson and blockades at abortion clinics" and shooting doctors/nurses. Isn't McCain terrorist?
(5) Does not McCain's tie with the felon G. Gordon Liddy make McCain a terrorist?
(6) What about McCain "palling" around with international con man Raffaello Follieri?
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080929/berman_ames
(7) McCain's lobbyists include terrorists Doug Goodyear, Doug Davenport, Charlie Black, Tom Loeffler, and Peter Madigan, and their firms' clients: For instance, Black represented Angolan terrorist Jonas Savimbi.
(8) Carl H. Lindner Jr, a McCain's fund raiser, supported United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, a paramilitary terrorist group. And what does that make McCain?
(9) Several other McCain's links to terrorism can be found on Jed Report: http://www.jedreport.com/
(10) Still more in this piece on Daily Kos and footnoted links: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/25/195811/157/570/575062

[CammyV]

Funny stuff, probably not that farfetched, but funny.

[HST]

Me likey the ads.

[Tommygun264]

Are you sure these aren't actual documentary footage?

[palinsnohillary]

these rock! Thanks for putting them out there.

[MrKINOKO]

Well. There it is in a nutshell: "You can't win an occupation". Are you listening, Palinites?

[E K]

these clips are hilarious!

[obamanation31]

wow! excellent ads!

[betabeta]

I just watched all four, those were so cool! Thanks for bringing them to my attention.

[Mayoyo]

ROTFL....

[deb123]

I think these are wonderful -- all of them!

[Blah Blah Blah]

8:05 CT: McCain probably should have gotten either a shorter stool or a taller stool. It doesn't matter but he should have made a decision, he looks pained.

The Second Presidential Debate: Live Analysis
http://voteforamerica.net/editorials/Comments.aspx?ArticleId=93&ArticleName=The+Second+Debate%3a+Live+Analysis

Oct 8 Polling Update.
http://voteforamerica.net/editorials/Comments.aspx?ArticleId=94&ArticleName=Poll+Update

Checkout my piece on Youth Voter Registration. For every 100 registered voters aged 18-24, the democrats accrue a 9 vote advantage.
http://voteforamerica.net/editorials/Comments.aspx?ArticleId=85&ArticleName=Youth+Vote%3a+The+Power+of+Registration

Obama 349, McCain 189
http://voteforamerica.net/electoral.aspx

[ohmetoo]

Save the Maverick families good name!

maverick y = gimmick y

Obama 08

[beautykilledbeast]

I hope these don't see air time. First of all, they aren't funny, unless your idea of funny is the space between electrons. Second, this ad campaign looks backwards in fear, not forwards with hope. They're change wrapped inside yesterday's newspaper. Third, maybe the agency could incorporate the campaign logo and various legal disclaimers. Finally, isn't Biden on the ticket also? It's a waste of my contribution dollars.

[LizWilliams]

these ads weren't paid for by the DNC, the agency and the director donated their time and resources.

[MichelleinBoston]

Using their creative powers for good.

[thatgirlinnewyork]

relax. agencies often produce these pro bono. there's a market for this message--it alludes to the befuddled tactical thinking of republican operatives, and rather well. most of us don't need to be hit over the head with rainbows and kittens.

[enlighteninglad]

I thought they were very funny. Lighten up.