Wow. 9-9-9 proponent Herb Cain is up with a new web ad that really "blew" me for a loop. Titled "Now is the time for action," the ad stars Cain chief-of-staff Mark Block rambling in rather predictable fashion about his boss ("I really believe that Herman Cain will put 'united' back in the United States of America, and if I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be here," etc).
The ad is horribly made, strangely-lit and Block appears to be shaking his head "no" throughout as if he doesn't buy a single word he's saying. But the truly weird part of the ad comes at the end when Block exhales a giant puff of his cigarette at the camera and we cut to a stonefaced Cain, who then tosses his head at the audience and breaks into a creepy laugh as teabager anthem "I Am America" plays in the background.
Video below the curlicue:
Bad, right?
This video has been making the rounds all evening on the conservative blogs with Hot Air hopefully spinning it as "so bad it's good." The bulk of Hot Air posters did not agree, with reactions ranging from "Karl Rove is going to need a bigger whiteboard" and "between this and buying copies of his own book, I'm sure donors are thrilled," to "Herman Cain is a less polished Christine O'Donnell" and "I think I preferred Paris Hilton's campaign commercials."
The story has just been picked up by CBS News, which calls the ad "bizarre," adding it "needs to be seen to be believed."
A number of factors make the spot itself very strange: Block's halting delivery, the close-up nature of the shots, a pair of rapid pans away from Block's face before the cuts. And that's all a precursor to the most memorable moment: A close up of Block inhaling a cigarette and then wordlessly exhaling a thin puff of smoke as a woman sings "I am America" in the background. The spot then cuts to a close up of an unsmiling Cain turning toward the camera, the candidate gradually breaking out into a laugh.
It should be mentioned that not only is Cain famous for surviving cancer, he also vociferously opposed smoking bans in restaurants while working for a restaurant trade lobbying group.
UPDATED From the New York Times:
From 1996, when he left the pizza company, until 1999, Mr. Cain ran the National Restaurant Association, a once-sleepy trade group that he transformed into a lobbying powerhouse. He allied himself closely with cigarette makers fighting restaurant smoking bans, spoke out against lowering blood-alcohol limits as a way to prevent drunken driving, fought an increase in the minimum wage and opposed a patients' bill of rights -- all in keeping with the interests of the industry he represented....
....The restaurant association relied heavily on R. J. Reynolds for financial support, records show. Mr. Meyne, the Reynolds senior director of public affairs, served on the restaurant group's board, and Mr. Cain served on the board of Nabisco, which had earlier merged with Reynolds.
In a 1999 memorandum, Mr. Meyne wrote that in previous years his company had given the trade group "as much as nearly $100,000 in cash and much more in in-kind support," adding, "They have done virtually everything we've ever asked, and even appointed us to their board."
Block also has ties to Big Tobacco. Before joining the Cain campaign, he was Wisconsin state director for Americans for Prosperity, which has opposed state smoking bans.
As bad as this ad is, it is this isn't even the weirdest web ad the Cain campaign has released on the Internet. This one is:
I really cannot believe this guy is leading the GOP polls.