I have to say that I’m pleasantly amused by the latest round of anti-Obama ads that McCain’s campaign has released. In this latest one, he compared Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. I thought to myself, “What?! Is he fucking kidding me?” In all honesty, McCain is so out of touch that he probably doesn’t even know who they are. If you remember, up until recently he didn’t even use email. How is McCain smart enough to draw the comparison? Well, he’s not, although his people that came up with his campaign try to be.
This is not the first time that McCain’s campaign has attempted a weak attempt at slinging mud at Obama. The commercial that comes to mind is the one where the commercial mentioned how Obama was against domestically drilling for oil. Even funnier, McCain tried to paint himself as some Republican environmentalist. Whether or not he is, I can’t say. I don’t have the image of McCain as trying to improve EPA regulations, emphasizing the need for alternative/renewable energy sources, etc. However, I do have the image of him as a decorated Vietnam veteran and, seemingly, a supporter for the wars overseas. The commercial was a trivial attempt for McCain to take on Obama’s characteristics and be seen as supporting the very things that Obama has. McCain isn’t young, charismatic and full of health and new ideas. He’s old, stagnant, with unpredictable health and supporting the same way of doing things that isn’t getting things done. You can always gain “experience.” On the other hand, new ideas are often more difficult to come by.
I am not naïve here. I know that in politics there’s mudslinging. There has been since probably cavemen gathered in groups to protect their mutual interests. Nothing has changed. One person wins while the other loses. Precisely how this happens is always different. While we don’t allow actual assassination, we do allow character assassination. This latest instance is the best and perhaps funniest one of all because this really is something that honestly can only roll off of Obama’s back. If McCain is so experienced and tries new things, then why not discuss the issues and arrive to new solutions?
How It Be In The D 
The depressing thing is that all studies indicate that negative advertising works. So even politicians who would prefer to avoid it — and I think that both Obama and McCain would like to stay positive — end up going negative if their race is competitive. I wish that voters could just learn to ignore the negative ads.
Comment by thoughtbasket — August 9, 2008 @ 22:10