This is my first Diary so I hope it turns out OK.
I've been finding myself leaving comments in open threads about suggestions for Democratic ads and how I've been disappointed with the ads that the Dems run. I think they're on the right page but they just don't push the emotional card like the republicans ads do. Some ads do, just not enough of them.
First and foremost, the number one issue that all the polls agree on: Iraq.
The American people can't relate to 60,000 or so dead Iraqis. They can't imagine a country without power. The violence over there is so rampant and so reported that the American people are just used to hearing it by now. They've become desensitized to the violence. There is one aspect that isn't getting enough coverage: Money. Hearing the numbers like 2 billion dollars a week or whatever it is just doesn't put things in perspective. A Democratic ad specifically talking about the war from a monetary point of view would get people talking about how big of a waste it is. A good ad would look like:
Would you like free health care? Well President Bush doesnt think you deserve it. He squandered 1,000,000,000.000+ in Iraq when that could have paid for your health care and every single American citizen's health care for 10 years. Thats FREE health care for 10 years for everyone. Do you feel healthy? I hope so...
Second, the stem cell ads work. Polls show that a majority of Americans support stem cell research and oppose Bush's only veto. The ads right now aren't bad but they can be better. Michael J Fox's ad in Missouri is good. It's good for one reason. It plays on raw emotion. The dems need to run with that emotion. They need an ad like this:
Do you have a friend suffering from Parkinsons? Has a relative of yours been diagnosed with Alzheimers? Do you know someone who is paralyzed? Stem cell research doesn't offer us a cure, but it does offer us HOPE... If elected the Democrats have promised within the first 100 hours of office to push through stem cell research legislation. Join us on Nov 7th to once again bring HOPE back to those less fortunate than you and I. Vote Democratic.
The 3rd issue that Democrats should have run with was national security. That's right: national security. The intelligence agencies have all concluded the world is less safe. Afghanistan is back to where it was pre-911. Iraq is a sesspool of terrorism now. North Korea has a nuclear weapon and Iran, who clearly wants a nuclear bomb, is their best buddy.
[Start by showing the clip of condoleezza rice talking about a mushroom cloud. Then show a mushroom cloud explosion] North Korea has a nuclear weapon. North Korea has missiles that can reach the United States. [Show newspaper clipping after clipping talking about Bush's failed policy toward north korea] This is Bush's foreign policy. Vote Democrat.
Michael J Fox ad on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/...