On Saturday, a commenter on Wonkette joked that, in order to cap off the string of high-level Republican endorsements that Obama received last week, soon Reagan himself will rise from the dead and endorse the Illinois Senator.
Would you like to see that?
On video?
Follow me after the jump!
For those of us old enough to remember it, Reagan’s "Are You Better Off?" speech during the 1980 debate was a defining moment. For better or worse, its powerful simplicity, laced with his signature optimism, is credited by many with helping Reagan to win the election.
Today, on the heels of the 28th anniversary of Reagan’s delivery of that speech, Progressive Future has released an ad produced by Jeff Goodby of Goody, Silverstein & Partners that uses audio and video from the original speech to create a new piece supporting Barack Obama. It highlights Reagan’s message as a fitting metaphor for the choice we face in 2008.
In an interesting twist, Goodby learned his craft from Hal Riney who produced the original "Morning in America" ad -- and his mentor’s level of skill certainly shows here. Watch and see how deftly Goodby weaves Reagan’s 1980 message with the challenges of our day:
It’s a powerful video which reminds us that, once again, America has reached a defining moment. As in 1980, we will soon have an opportunity to send America in a new direction – perhaps for a generation to come. And hopefully, this time, we will get it right. Opportunities of this magnitude do not come along very often.
The ad, which will hit the airwaves on Thursday in Ohio and Florida, was paid for by Progressive Future, a national non-profit working to promote progressive values through grassroots action.