Classic television ads are few and far between. And only occasionally do they blend into the politic dialect (see: “Where’s the beef?” Mondale v. Hart, 1984).
The “Wasssssup” Budweiser spots were — for avid television watchers — one of those memorable ad moments that had pop culture significance. Now, the very same characters are reprising almost identical roles in a short clip on behalf of the Obama campaign.
The Jewish Alliance for Change, a pro-Obama group, is launching a series of three ads in swing states that use humor and celebrity narration to go after John McCain. An ad titled “Ain’t Funny — Vice President” features old-time movie and TV stars such as Carl Reiner, Danny Devito, and Jerry Stiller riffing on topics ranging from the price of gas (”it costs more than the car”) to health care and Sarah Palin. “He wants to put that girl who winks in the second position,” says Reiner, of Oceans 11, 12, and 13 fame, “Oh God, we are in trouble.” (more…)
Colin Powell is right on the money in his statement today concerning the despicable nature of John McCain’s (and the RNC’s) attacks on Obama. We need more men and women, who are fair and clear minded like Powell, speaking up for what’s right.
Here’s the transcript:
Q: Sir, what role did McCain’s negativity play in your decision?
POWELL: It troubled me. You know, we have two wars. We have economic problems. We have health problems. We have education problems. We have infrastructure problems. We have problems around the world with our allies. And so those are the problems the American people wanted to hear about, not about Mr. Ayers, not about who is a Muslim and who’s not a Muslim. Those kinds of images going out on al Jazeera are killing us around the world. And we have got to say to the world it doesn’t make any difference who you are or what you are. If you’re an American you’re an American. (more…)
Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign Monday drew the parallel between Sen. John McCain’s involvement in the 2-decade-old “Keating Five” scandal and the current economic situation. The Obama campaign released a 13-minute documentary called “Keating Economics: John McCain and the Making of a Financial Crisis.” Visit the website here. Also be sure to check out AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka speak about Obama and racism here.
Barack Obama is a leader in my opinion, a welcome change from what we’ve endured for the last 8 years. The following video is Barack Obama speaking on the Senate floor on October 1, 2008 concerning problems with world credit markets.
UPDATE: It’s reported by the AP that John McCain stayed curiously quiet and did not speak on the bill. The AP reports “McCain’s decision not to speak on the bill in the Senate chamber was odd for a candidate who took the legislation so seriously that he had suspended his campaign and suggested what became a bipartisan White House meeting on the matter.”
The AP also noted something that I would argue illustrates the true nature of McCain: “Before the roll was called, Arizona Sen. McCain dined in Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s office. When the series of votes were called, McCain did not acknowledge Obama as he passed by; Obama later initiated a handshake.” This rude nature is similar to how it was widely reported that McCain did not once look at Obama in their first debate.
One might argue that the real John McCain is well illustrated in the videos below. Many insiders who know John McCain have hinted about Mr. McCain’s testiness and temper, and we’ve seen some examples of it in the press. He seems pretty good at hiding this aspect of his personality in most cases, but I would suggest that cool heads need to prevail after 8 years of the current president and vice-president. The following are three clips taken from an interview of John McCain by the Des Moines Register.
UPDATE:
Politico reports more McCain testiness on October 2, 2008:
“We just followed McCain down the steps following the vote to ask him about the reaction of House Republicans to the vote. He didn’t appreciate the company.
McCain: “Excuse me, you’re bothering me.”
Politico: “I’m bothering you?”
McCain: “Excuse me, I have to go.”
Maybe it’s time for McCain to retire if he’s so bothered. Article here.
