Distract And Detract: McCain Counter-Programs The DNC, And Himself

John McCain's press release TV ad playing up Joe Biden's criticism of Barack Obama and praise of McCain.

While the Democrats continue rolling out their convention and the Obama-Biden ticket, Team McCain is playing it tough, trying to disrupt Barack Obama's storyline at most turns of the media cycle. Free from the no doubt horrifying responsibility to run positive TV ads during the Olympics after it was brought to their attention that John McCain is the only one ever to have run negative ads, the campaign is back to its all-attack ways.

McCain's fast and tough new campaign, under new campaign director Steve Schmidt -- who I know very well from his direction of Arnold Schwarzenegger's landslide re-election and profiled here -- is making a real race of this, when it shouldn't be. Schmidt believes in winning or at least muddying the waters at every phase of the news cycle. Incidentally, there is no reason why Schmidt's tactics can't be used against McCain. The media, mind you, is not going to change.

Six negative TV ads released in the past three days. Four from the McCain campaign itself. Two from closely aligned entities. One, funded solely by a Texas billionaire who's a big McCain fundraiser, with a former McCain aide on board, attacking on Obama's connection with former Weather Undergrounder-turned-professor Bill Ayers. The other, Vets for Freedom attacking Obama on the surge.

The goals throughout? Distract and detract.

Distract the very distractable news media from what Barack Obama is doing. Detract from the appeal of Obama himself.

Story continues below

advertisement

And now the counter-programming applies to McCain himself. Or more accurately, his recent gaffes of not knowing how many homes he and wife Cindy own, and of imagining that it takes $5 million a year to be rich.

As always with a Schmidt-run campaign, TV advertising is used as event marketing. It doesn't matter if the ads actually air in any concerted way on commercial TV. They are used to disrupt what would otherwise be the news flow.

The ads are a shiny lure.

It used to be that when you hit an opponent, in the mail or in the electronic media, you didn't send out a press release about it. You just did it. And waited for the opposition to learn about it and try to respond, while the dark work took its effect on the electorate.

Now the hits are intended to alter the media narrative. You put the ads out to get the media to talk and write about them. And to force the opposition to respond and, hopefully, stop doing what they were doing because now they are responding to you.

Consider:

Obama names Joe Biden as his running mate. Team McCain puts out an ad quoting Biden criticizing Obama and praising McCain. Seen above.

McCain's "3 AM" ad plays off Hillary's "3 AM" ad.

Obama works out the speaking roles for Hillary and Bill Clinton at the convention. Team McCain puts out an ad showing an ad -- the famous Hillary "3 AM" spot -- saying she was right. That Obama's not ready.

McCain's ad featuring this former Hillary Clinton delegate, a virtual unknown, plays up a Democratic discord narrative.

Conventioneers start arriving in Denver amidst signs that many Clinton voters say they will vote for McCain. Which is not actually a good sign for McCain, since his closeness in the polls is due to their lingering bad feelings and ignorance of his views. So Team McCain puts out an ad with the only Hillary delegate (make that former delegate) who has actually endorsed McCain.

McCain's ad claiming she was passed over for vice president because she criticized Obama.

The early consensus on Joe Biden as prospective vice president turns out to be generally very good. Team McCain puts out an ad saying that Obama "passed over" the best choice, Hillary, because she "spoke the truth" about him and he couldn't take it.

Meanwhile, of course, the Republicans have a ton of opposition research on the Clintons. Which they now can't use. Needless to say, they'd be using it now if Obama had picked Hillary.

But this relentless strategy of distract and detract by the McCain campaign itself works to a certain extent in altering the news flow. And the Bill Ayers hit actually got Obama to release a counter-ad.

Which prompted a McCain spokesman to say: "The fact that Barack Obama chose to launch his political career at the home of an unrepentant terrorist raises more questions about Senator Obama's judgment than any TV ad ever could."

Obama didn't actually launch his career at Ayers' home, but you get the gist.

Of course, there is no reason why Steve Schmidt's techniques can't be used against his own campaign. The Democrats could use media jamming tactics to jam the jamming tactics. Which might create a sort of white noise. Or move the story to substance.

It's true that McCain's campaign is all based on attack right now.

But McCain is doing other things, too. There's plenty of policy out there, that is plenty controversial.

And, for example, there's something like this.

Last night, John McCain appeared on The Tonight Show for the 13th time. Where he answered Jay Leno's question about how many homes he owns by citing his status as a POW.

The appearance seems to have been lost in the media shuffle.

Who else has been on The Tonight Show 13 times?

Pamela Anderson. Jennifer Love Hewitt. Dr. Phil. Simon Cowell from American Idol.

Celebrities.

The ad practically writes itself.

Distract and detract.

Comments

[XME]

To me, it feels like his constant remind of his POW status whenever he's attacked about ANYTHING is demeaning to every vet who's every defended this country. My father is a vet...retired Colonel from the USAF after 30 years of service who serviced in Viet Nam, and I know that he is extremely disturbed by McCain's constant use of his POW status to gain sympathy and to distract from the issues he's being attacked on. It's a blow that really doesn't get any lower.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

It's become quite reflexive now, no question about that.

[BeltwayBette]

McCain is ready to command . . .and to gut our nation with the following :

Higher deficits for US; more debt to China
Lower minimum wage
Less pay, less safety for the worker, greater wealth for the rich
No incentives for jobs to be in the U.S.
No Social Security benefits?

No habeus corpus, no protection from illegal incarceration of American Citizens, kidnapping/ torture, increased loss of personal privacy, more prisons, more Constitution raping.

Women will have no rights,Taliban style. We will have lower pay for equal work, no Roe vs. Wade, no legal contraceptives, no child care outside the home. Women will again die horribly from illegal abortions. More newborns will be murdered.

Crime will increase as criminal cartels take control of contraceptive sales. And the starving steal, mug, or burglarize to feed their families.

Since school vouchers are Republican"s way of siphoning tax dollars to evangelical schools and starving public education, our children will learn only right wing world visions and who deserves to live in it.
McCain"s ignorance of and right wing sexual obsessions about the Internet will create laws limiting its use.

McCain will reinstate the draft and a foreign policy inline with his antiquated warrior fantasies. McCain"s foreign policy naïvity will lead us to wars, perhaps WWIII. And the use of nuclear weapons.

MCain has no problem commanding us: He has the Bush/Cheney template.
Another military veteran for Obama for president

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Women will have no rights, Taliban style?

Take a few deep breaths.

[chiefeditor]

We have audio from some of these ads in MP3 form -- Bartoshevich: http://www.entertonement.com/collections/2439/Debra-Bartoshevich and 3 AM: http://www.entertonement.com/collections/2513/3-AM-Ad

[somsoc]

Why is it that the media, print and electronic, keep hinting around the edges but dare not get into any real research. It took Ted Koppel and a limited budget and some real guts to get to the bottom of the Swift Boat lies and distortions and NOT ONE other media outlet picked it up because they had been too lazy and too weak minded to do it themselves.

Quit putting McCain on this phoney "hero" platform -- one created out of whole cloth by the media. Answer the question as to why McCain was monicker "The Hoa Lin Songbird" within just weeks of his capture? Why do NVA records reveal that McCain was given preferential treatment to include medical care at a hospital reserved for high ranking NVA and government officers? There are much more disturbing FACTS about McCain, but at least these should be covered by good investigative journalism. You folks are a joke.

[BottomLine2008]

Too early to act like an angry loser.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Definitely the wrong path to take.

[jswoody09]

After I watched Mc Cain on Leno-- joke about his housing situation and then try to tie that to his vietnam imprisonment--I realized he's simply trying to cash in on a failed mission, the lose of a multi-million dollar aircraft, and a probable bad reaction time to whatever was happenig around him when he was shot down

Only in America would we consider these to be qualifications of a military expert--how much operational experience does one get setting in jail ?

Is the person who got caught trying to rob the bank --now suddenly capable of running it ?

I just don't understand...

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Let's say analogy is not your strongest mode of argument ...

[Pupadup4oBama]

Just want to mention:
The Biden ad - THAT one has no validity ...Biden even SAID "I would be honored to run with OR AGAINST John McCain."
So I don't see how that would help McCain other than people will only hear the first part and not listen to the second part - which i'm sure that's what the MacAttack campaign is counting on.

[BottomLine2008]

They're all distractions.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

People don't pay that much attention, contra George Lakoff.

[ElCapitanAmerica]

Agree with it or not, the Hillary ads are probably a good idea for McCain. They're reaching out to disgruntled Democrats, trying to either discourage them for voting or switching sides. They're also showing these between DNC convention commercial breaks, pretty aggressive.

We'll see how effective they are and how the Obama campaign responds.

[Pupadup4oBama]

well, as of last nite - I don't think we'll have to worry about the "disgruntled Democrats" anymore...because they have nothing to go on anymore - Hillary completely turned that around.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

I think that took Bill Clinton's speech. I have a column coming on the role he should play.

[BottomLine2008]

Did you hear about Hillary Clinton's speech?

[usnvet1983]

William, Great article by the way........The Republicans can spin Hillary's speech all they want, but they are running scared...NO WAY! NO HOW! NO MCCAIN! That basically said it all. Bruno Amato

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks.

However, I talked with Steve Schmidt today.

I would say he is not scared.

[TRIATHLON]

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE!

You have got to give Steve Schmidt his deserved credit, for hoisting (D-NY) US/Senator Hillary Diane Rodham-Clinton upon her own pitchard, Hillary came to the Democratic Convention of the (US/MIC) United States Military Industrial Complex, Far-Left-Capital "S" Socialist Party, to give a Mark Anthony, I am not here to bury Caesar, I am here to start my (2012) campaign moments, for the .Neoliberal (D-IL) US Senator Barrack "Barry" Hussein Obama.

But, Steve Schmidt hoisted the would be Imperial Presidential, so called King Maker, on her own hypocritical pitchard, showing Hillary for the two faced liar she really is with her own words. Don"t pay any attention to what I said before I misspoke and was misrepresented, trust me now. I"m not really starting my (2008) campaign.

Steve Schmidt is no Mark Penn, and Hillary is no Mark Anthony, but the .Neoliberal (D-IL) US Senator Barrack "Barry" Hussein Obama, seems to be Julius Caesar, among all the knife carrying smiling faces, Et Tu Hillary?

[JudeC]

Am I the only one finding it endlessly amusing that one attack ad posits that you should not vote for Obama because his V.P. pick once said critical things about him, while the next one posits that you should not vote for Obama because he supposedly passed over Hillary for V.P. for criticizing him?

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Consistency is the hobgoblin of tiny minds. Or something like that.

[eden4barack08]

Lol.

[LeftofTerry]

FOOLISH consistency is the hobgoblin...

btw, who is winning the hobgoblin vote?

[BottomLine2008]

They can sell it one way, or sell it another way.

[usnvet1983]

When Mccain gives his speech at the Republican Convention, let's see how many times he say's, "My friends" and "The Surge" ....he's worse than Guiliani, who drops "September 11th" in every sentence. Besides being a POW almost 40 years ago, has McCain done ANYTHING good for this country since then??!! ...I mean besides voting to put more Americans in harms way in Iraq?? Bruno Amato

[BottomLine2008]

McCain's overplaying his POW card, big time.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

It's getting a to be a bit much.

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Schmidt and company are working on getting McCain to drop the constant "my friends" business.

[CaptainStormfield]

Great article. This is the kind of substance I would like to see more of on Huffpost.
How come your not running the Obama campaign?

When in doubt, tell the truth.
Mark Twain

[BottomLine2008]

Damn straight!

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks. That's very flattering.

[instagladiator]

Aye Captain, I second that. Somehow I felt more mature, grown-up, after reading this article. And the Mark Twain quote is definitely bumper-sticker material, based on that long forgotten gift that we all possess 'common sense'.

[dudervision]

I understand that the supposed Hillary supporter in his commercial was unaware that McCain is against a woman's right to choose? Here's the quote from the interview:

"Going back to 1999, John McCain did an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle saying that overturning Roe v. Wade would not make any sense, because then women would have to have illegal abortions."

Of course, McCain has stated that he is committed to overturning Roe v Wade

I only hope PUMA wakes up in time! Excellent work on this column!

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks very much. I think Hillary Clinton made things pretty clear in her speech for PUMA and other diehards.

[BottomLine2008]

Those PUMA cats hate on the smart young black guy.

[Pupadup4oBama]

That woman got her 15 minutes...and it made her look like a fool. I hope she crawls back to the rock from which she crawled out from.
Karma's a bitch!

[EliDavidson]

Awsome

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks.

[BottomLine2008]

Is McCain going to "pass over" Mitt Romney because "the truth hurts?" Is he going to take him and claim the truth didn't matter?

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

If he doesn't take Romney it will be because of the super-rich guys issue.

[BottomLine2008]

How many houses between them?

[BottomLine2008]

Who the heck is Debra Bartoshevich?

[William Bradley - Huffpost Blogger]

I knew about her because of the McCain endorsement, but had never heard of her otherwise.

[BottomLine2008]

You'll never hear of her again.