Much as I am enjoying Senator McCain's housing dilemma, and the creativity and humor it has unleashed here and elsewhere, I don't want the underlying point--that McCain just doesn't understand how most people live in America--to get buried. There's such a thing as having too much fun with a gaffe, after all. Beating dead horses and that sort of thing.
If it were up to me, I'd prefer that the Obama campaign be sparing with the "Seven" ad, and alternate it with the campaign's signature upbeat, positive, unifying messages. They don't have the same go-for-the-jugular appeal, but I think they do have a soft sell effect that will last longer than negative ads. My favorite, so far, is "Hands."
(This would be a good place to embed the video, but I don't know how to do that)
My impression of that ad, and I saw it only 3 times, was that it reinforced Obama's strength. I remember telling a friend a year ago "Obama will win because he makes people feel good." About the country, about being American, about the state of the world. Not naively optimistic. His references to old fashioned values, to sacrifice, leap right out of the Depression era when people pulled together in hard times. Recognizing hard times is a good start, but reinforcing the idea of community and shared responsibility for shaping the future is powerful, inspiring. I like "Hands" for that reason, and for its notion of work, the hard work that makes lives change, the dignity of labor.
I think attack ads have their place, especially when they spread true information that people otherwise wouldn't hear. But I also want more of that upbeat but realistic, cautiously optimistic but shoulder-to-the-wheel message. OK, call me old fashioned. But it works for me.