The actor has filmed a new ad for MoveOn.org drawing the parallel between Bush and McCain.
Here it is
Someone more tech savvy than I (that would not be McCain himself of course) can embed the link. Here's my attempt to transcribe the ad myself:
Do you think you can tell President Bush apart from John McCain? Really?
Pop Quiz: Who supports keeping our troops in harm's way in Iraq but NOT a bi-partisan GI Bill of rights to support them when they return home? Whose top advisors are linked to war profiteers? Who tried to convince Americans to privatize our social security? Who opposed health care for uninsured children last year?
The answer is...Both. Go to MoveOn.org and take the Bush-McCain challenge. Bet you can't tell them apart.
MoveOn is trying to raise $70,000 to get the ad on the air. Cusack donated his time. Here's some information from MoveOn's email:
Most political ads have grim photos and ominous voice-overs, and too often people just tune 'em out. But this one's attention-getting—it's a new twist on our successful Bush-McCain Challenge quiz game, and John's delivery is the perfect fit.
We're going to air it on Bravo, the reality TV channel—the kind of place you don't usually see political ads. We'll reach voters who aren't following politics and haven't made up their minds.
I'd have liked to see one example about abortion, the Supreme Court or women's rights, because I think McCain still convinces people that he's moderate on those issues, but this may not have been the right venue. There are certainly more than enough parallels out there to choose from. But it's still a well done ad, and the parallel between keeping the troops in Iraq and not supporting them when they come home is a powerful one that should be emphasized over and over again.
HuffPost has a headline today:
McCain On Cheney In His Cabinet: "Hell, Yeah."
that further ties Bush and McCain together. If you read the full article though, it's clear that there's actually no love lost between the two men:
Vice President Dick Cheney is unlikely to share a stage with McCain anytime soon—and may not be called on to play any role at all in the 2008 presidential campaign. In part, it’s a reflection of political expediency. Though Cheney is one of the nation’s most influential and talked about vice presidents ever, his favorability ratings are near toxic lows.
But Cheney and McCain also have had a rocky relationship.
They have clashed publicly and privately during the Bush years on matters ranging from the treatment of terrorist detainees to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Most recently, they’ve been on opposite sides on the idea of a gas tax holiday and on a Cheney-backed energy bill.
As a result, Cheney finds himself on the outside looking in, without a clear role to play in one of the most consequential campaigns in history and one where his signature foreign policy legacy is on the line.
Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said the vice president had not yet campaigned for McCain and had not, to her knowledge, been asked.
"I don’t think the McCain people want Cheney anywhere near him," said a former Cheney aide."
However, further in the article is this gem of a quote, referring to comments McCain made in 2006:
Going further, McCain even told Hayes in comments heretofore unpublished that he’d consider Cheney for an administration post.
Asked whether he’d be interested in Cheney had the vice president not already have served under Bush for two terms, McCain said: "I don’t know if I would want him as vice president. He and I have the same strengths. But to serve in other capacities? Hell, yeah."
Leaving aside the rather laughable comment about McCain and Cheney having the same strengths, it's deeply troubling to me that McCain would consider Cheney for a role in the government. It's yet one more way that a McCain presidency would truly be Bush's 3rd term. Maybe he's changed his views since 2006 (lord knows it wouldn't be the first time). But it's still disturbing.
If you liked the Cusack ad and have a few spare pennies, please consider donating to MoveOn to air it.