Obama Campaign Turns Down ABC For Half Hour Ad

LOS ANGELES — A half-hour Barack Obama campaign ad will blanket the major broadcast networks Wednesday night _ except for ABC.

Attempting to protect its struggling Wednesday lineup, ABC tried to reach an agreement with the Obama campaign to air the commercial on a different night, according to people familiar with the discussions who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

ABC had a change of heart, but by the time it decided to make the 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday slot available for the Democratic presidential candidate's spot, his campaign had already finalized the ad buy, the people said. ABC will air an episode of the hourlong "Pushing Daisies" at that time as scheduled.

The Obama campaign bought time on CBS, NBC and Fox for $1 million per network. In Fox's case, the ad will precede the resumption of rain-suspended Game 5 of the World Series in Philadelphia.

Fox decided to pre-empt its World Series pre-game show for the Obama spot and will start its baseball coverage after the commercial's 8:30 p.m. conclusion.

The 30-minute spot, which was announced in early October, will air six days before the election between Obama and Republican candidate John McCain. It is also scheduled to run on Univision, BET, MSNBC and TV One.

Described by the Obama campaign as a "program," the half-hour will present "the specifics of Obama's plans to turn the economy around and get the country back on track," according to a statement from campaign spokesman Nick Shapiro.

Short political spots are the traditional way for politicians to communicate with voters. But Obama's campaign has deep pockets for the costly ad buy that allows him to make a closing argument nationwide: his fundraising has topped $600 million.

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ABC hasn't been left out of the Obama campaign budget. From Oct. 8-24, the campaign purchased about $1.8 million worth of commercial time on the network's schedule, including prime-time and morning spots, according to ABC.

"Pushing Daisies" is among many shows trying to rebound from the Hollywood writers strike that disrupted the 2007-08 TV season. ABC's Wednesday night lineup, which also includes "Private Practice" and "Dirty Sexy Money," has struggled to capture viewers.

ABC is running the following ad to promote its lineup while the other networks run the Obama commercial:

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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

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On the Net:

http://www.abc.com

Comments

[pinesongwoman]

twas the night before voting
and all through the town
not a republican stirring
shades all pulled down

while they gathered in masses
reworking their schemes
by the firelight burning
all middle class dreams.

we don't need the middle class,
keep rich and keep poor,
no matter the fall of
civilizations before,

with visions of oil stocks
and money to friends,
the rich will get richer,
but we can pretend

as the new world order
begins to take over
that the money will trickle
down to all below her,

and swear again to our unbroken creed
of diplomacy in iraq.
sacrifice your young children
they may not come back,

but if they don't, trust in us,
they've died for the dream
of capitalist gain
and republican scheme.

no greater ideal
to ease a heart hurtin'
than to think of the gold filled
banks of halliburton.

and the surplus enjoyed
by iraqis how strange,
while america weeps
praying for change.

on obama, on biden, on clinton, and you
on to the voting booths, out with the truth,

i warned mccain of his temper, the next day,my friend,
as the electoral votes came pouring in,
but his eyes were flashing, his face agrimace,,
his overworked mind went into a spin!

i heard mccain scream out as he ran out of sight,
"i twisted the truth and i dimmed out it's light!
i did everything karl rove told me to do,
it worked for george w., why not me too?.


.

[texaswarrior]

that is so lame.

[dabrigadier]

Hey 'texaswarrior' with your silly ass poem we are getting out to vote alright. We will be Voting for Obama/Biden.

[texaswarrior]

'Twas the night before elections
And all through the town
Tempers were flaring
Emotions all up and down!

I, in my bathrobe
With a cat in my lap
Had cut off the TV
Tired of political crap.

When all of a sudden
There arose such a noise
I peered out of my window
Saw Obama and his boys

They had come for my wallet
They wanted my pay
To give to the others
Who had not worked a day!

He snatched up my money
And quick as a wink
Jumped back on his bandwagon
As I gagged from the stink

He then rallied his henchmen
Who were pulling his cart
I could tell they were out
To tear my country apart!

"On Fannie, on Freddie,
On Biden and Ayers!
On Acorn, On Pelosi"
He screamed at the pairs!

They took off for his cause
And as he flew out of sight
I heard him laugh at the nation
Who wouldn't stand up and fight!

So I leave you to think
On this one final note-
IF YOU DONT WANT SOCIALISM
GET OUT AND VOTE

[Harpseal60]

ABC...You snooze, you loose. Too bad you waited to long. Now you can't get Obama commercial.

[Riker]

ABC sold their soul to a devil named Pat Robertson when he got them to promise not to end his 700 Club personal rant and rave show on ABC Family. ABC, after being taken over by Disney, became a cold, hard cash machine that didn't care about anything but money. How they think an historic evening of Obama sharing where he wants to take our country for the next few years would be less interestin­g/importan­t than a failing sitcom remains a mystery, even for those robotic suits in programming.

[majorteddy]

I'd rather watch Palin speak than watch "Pushing Daisies" and I can't stand her.

[texaswarrior]

maybe you want to hang an effigy of her too? I wish someone would do that with and effigy of Michelle and Obama. Then see what hypocrites come out of the woodworks.

[mjc]

Incidentally, NYT08, as you no doubt know there is no"educating" Obamacons on THE ONE. Just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in your viewpoint. As for many on this site, ABC is just as much in the tank for Obama as any other tv network now. You can't have heard Jake Kapper? give his analysis or George Stephanopolous's comments if you believe that.

[MM216]

Elizabeth Hasselbeck, is this you?

[texaswarrior]

see this person MM216 under me? he/she is a highly skilled debater throwing a VERY impressive counter. NOT! I can't help but read this blog. It reinforces my belief that Libs are truly insane idiots that have no idea what they are asking for. It is so entertaining.

[mjc]

Here we are, just about a week before the big day and Obama is spending millions just to have one last chance to tell us who he is and what he's going to do. Here we are as well having billions go down the drain, 401Ks in deep jeopardy, and job losses beginning to head the way they did in the 1930s. Does this seem like a rational or caring society? Obama refused to give in to ABC's very reasonable demands for the new season of tv shows. He wanted an all out barrage on one night at one time. Why? But after ABC offered to air his remarks on another night, the campaign refused. Hey, don't watch ABC that often but will be happy to do so tonight. Think is just another example of how stubborn and "my way or the highway" Obama is. As a president, that attitude could hurt this country's negotiations with foreign or domestic entities; not a good trait for a leader to have.

[Topfeeder]

Obama is spending my donations on advertising time. I have no problem with that. If I were a Republican I would have a huge problem with my campaign donations being spent on buying Piper Palin clothes. It's interesting how you see ABC's refusal to buy ads as Obama being all "my way or the highway." Well, maybe not.

[CaDesertRat]

MJC, are you kidding? Obama is "stubborn" and "my way or the highway". Have you been living in a different existence than the rest of us for the last 8 years? Does the name George W. Bush mean anything to you or are you just plain ignorant of what has been going on in this country. You are going to watch the sitcom drivel on ABC tonight instead of listening to Sen. Obama outline where he wants to take our country and our economy? I guess that’s typical of the Republicans these days; don’t educate yourself, don’t think on your own and certainly don’t let others think for themselves. Frankly people like you are the reason we are where we are. Your future is at stake as well as the rest of us. Put away your obvious bias and listen to what the man has to say. You might just be surprised. But then again, it’s hard to open a closed mind…

[texaswarrior]

go back to the Desert. I just heard the same reasonating message from Obama and it just turns my stomach. I am not for sharing my hard earned money with those that hold out their hands for a living. This is my future, and the future of my children and I am not interested in seeing this country go into wholesale poverty just so that everyone shares equally. You probably played in those kid soccer games where there was no score and everyone won a trophy just so their feelings weren't hurt. What a wus!
Obama's message is communism. You are communist for following him. That IS an educated observation. Your blindly following someone that is not worthy to be president. In addition, Obama's skeletons keep popping up. Have you heard of Obama's friend named Khalid? Hmm, why isn't the liberal media releasing this tape? No excuse! If you had this sort of connection with McCain then you would be screaming for the video tape and calling McCain a Jew hater. And the media would quickly release it and McCain would burn for it. Oh no! But not for Obama. Can't do that. Not the messiah, Nope. Obama is evil and has no inerest in your future.. These aren't "talking points" these are educated observations. so try again Desert.

[GrammyK8]

It seems like folks like you are looking for something to bag on OBama about, and there is NO way he can please you. I don't know who is going to win this race, but I know we are all Americans, and if we can't learn how to respect each other, we don't need to worry about anyone else, we will destroy ourselves. Let's start thinking about sharing this world with each other nicely! Okay?

[IamPhenom]

Cry me a river. I think I've seen 10 TV ads for McCain here in Florida and gotten 2 McCain robocalls just in the past hour. I'm sure you have a problem all that money going "down the drain" too, right? Yeah, didn't think so.

Republicans have the money advantage every election. The RNC even in this election has 3 or 4 times the money the DNC has. The only change is that Obama is getting overwhelming numbers of money from small donors like myself. People are digging down deep into their pockets because they know Obama will be a far better President for all of us.

[ThanksMatt]

They refused to air an Al Gore ad recently. So it is fair that they don't get Obama's campaign money and the viewers.

[klandish]

"Pushing Up Daisies"? Is that the half hour ad McCain bought?

[smartgram]

Who even watches A B C ?

[fiduciaryatlarge]

Who watches ABC? These last few years they have solidified their standing as leaders of the mainstream media conservative bias. I don't trust them or watch them.

[cody58]

Those of us that are interested in change for America will find a way to listen to the Senator. So ABC push up your daises. Give them to the Senator from Arizona/

[ahsaki80]

Pushing Daisies? I never even heard of that show. No wonder it's getting canned.

[Krikkit]

It was a brilliant move for the campaign to buy this air time this close to the election. I've read reports that a full 30% of independent voters still haven't decided who will get their vote. Those people need more than the sound bites the news orgs give them, or the structured debates. They need to hear Obama's proposed policies, his approach to governance, and they need to see his leadership style before they can decide if they are for or against him for President.