Those of you who did not see the new ad by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, entitled "It's Time for George Bush to Listen" should go take a look at it here:
http://www.dccc.org/
I saw this ad at its debut at YK this past week-end, and looked at it again today when I received a solicitation email from Harold Ford seeking $250,000 to run this ad. I nearly choked on that request, and hit "reply" to send my comments on it to the DCCC, only to get a "no-reply" in the address line. So I am airing my thoughts on the ad here.
This ad encapsulates, for me, what is wrong with the Democratic Party. This ad is lame. There are several snippets meant to showcase accomplishments of the past session, such as the minimum wage bill and health care for veterans and children. Worthy accomplishments all, but portrayed in the ad in that gauzy, smiling, photogenic style that is typical of the most quintessentially forgetable political ads. The most effective image in the ad is one of George Bush taken with an upward-directed camera angle and making him look positively presidential. The only thing at all hard hitting about this ad (sort of) was the title. The entire ad reminded me of that ridiculous photo of Dukakis poking his head out of a tank and trying unsuccessfully to look militaristic and instead looking like he was in danger of shooting himself in the foot. The Democratic Party should be trying to emphasize those occasions when they stood up to George Bush. This ad had the effect, for me, of reminding me of all of the times the current congressional Democrats have capitulated to the White House. This is a mealy-mouthed, tofu fake-turkey of an ad when the times are ripe for showing the 66% of Americans who are desperate for change that the Democratic Party is ready to eat red meat. No wonder Republicans keep getting mileage out of the "Democrats will be weak on terrorism" meme. This ad feeds into that by demonstrating that we cannot even effectively stand up to George Bush.
One of the many wonderful sessions I attended at YK07 was one by author-psychologist Drew Westen who wrote The Political Brain. He talks about how our emotions, rather than our rational brains, determine how we make voting decisions, and in particular how we process political speeches and advertising. The Political Brain. Starting on page 9, he talks about a particular John Kerry ad in which he spent millions of campaign dollars telling the story George W. Bush wanted to tell about him, namely that he was a privileged, Northeastern, liberal intellectual. The current DCCC ad is of the same mold - playing into the stereotype of the Democrats as the "mommy party" incapable of being tough on anyone.
I would be interested in knowing if other people react to the ad the same way I did. And if so, what is the solution? It is not just this ad although I strongly believe that it will be a waste of $250,000 to run it. It is the entire namby-pamby way that the Democratic party presents itself, which this ad is emblematic of.