On Monday I wrote a diary about Obama's targeted radio spot hitting McCain over the economy in Wisconsin. It emerged as part of an overall strategy in which Obama airs positive ads nationally, but targets McCain with attack ads locally.
Well, Obama just upped the ante, asking: "How can John McCain fix the economy. When he doesn't think it's broken?" As of now, the ad is just running in Indiana (a test, perhaps?). Take a look here or below (as soon as YouTube is available, I'll swap this out):
Transcript follows:
McCain: I don’t believe we’re headed into a recession.
January 10, 2008
Murrow: "I think we’re absolutely in a recession"
Ed Rutherford, Morrow, Ohio
Ahlersmeyer : "I sometimes struggle just to get essentials, you know the milk, the bread, the eggs"
Lauren Ahlersmeyer, Lafayette, Indiana
McCain: There’s been great progress economically.
April 17, 2008
Morrison: "The economy is in a rut."
Stuart Morrison, Park Hills, Kentucky
McCain: We’ve had a pretty good prosperous time with low unemployment.
January 30, 2008
Robertson: the way the economy is, it is the bleakest of times.
Kelly Robertson, Elkhart, Indiana
Fisher: "I’m worried, I’m really worried."
Christina Fisher, Wilmington, OH
How can John McCain fix the economy, when he doesn’t think it’s broken?
Obama: I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message.
For those of us who have been waiting for Obama to start defining McCain negatively, especially on the economy, this ad is manna from heaven. I'm still waiting for the use of the moment in which McCain said "I don't know enough about the economy," but for now, this is a great start.
Notice the way in which they contrast McCain speaking with real citizens speaking about their concerns very effective.
In the meantime, McCain is tagged as the guy running the negative ads (especially during the Olympics), while ads like these fly somewhat under the radar for Obama, who is seen as the more positive advertiser (and will have another positive spot up next week in the Olympics). But not in Indiana.
Would love to see more like this, especially in states like Michigan and Ohio.
It's a great start and their team deserves credit.
UPDATED: As some commenters have pointed out, the unions are starting to "go there" hitting McCain on his wealth:
Steve Smith, a spokesperson for the AFL-CIO, tells me that the union will be striving to reach out to more than a million union retirees in coming weeks.
"In key battleground states, the retiree vote is going to be crucial in the presidential race," Smith says. "Our research -- polling, focus groups -- indicates that many seniors still are unaware of John McCain's record in support of privatization and plans to drastically reduce benefits."
The mailer will go out tomorrow to 50,000 retirees in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan, and more mailings will soon be dropped in those states, where the union is also planning a series of Social Security events.
UPDATE 2: Obama's New Positive Olympics Spot:
CROSS-POSTED AT STRATEGY '08