Brutal Biden ad against Mayor Pete.

[Mad cow]

65. I don't think of the ad as a smack down

Most of the comparisons the ad invokes are petty. I live near South Bend and the thing about the lights, the brick sidewalks, snd the pet law are stupid. Not exactly a smack down. There are legitimate things to criticize him for, but those aren't it. I think this ad will backfire.

As far as the AA issues Biden went easy on, why? If there are legitimate concerns, air those. Did the brain trust decide those other lame reasons resonated more? Pete's not my guy at this point, but I could go on about how those lights and that brick sidewalk are nothing to mock. The bricks are actually most likely pervious pavers, an environmental consideration in support of a consent decree related to stormwater control - that illuminated river is a valued natural resource in these parts. The ad personally offends me because my job and my livelihood are related to preserving and enhancing that river quality, so minimizing his efforts as some kind of lame joke raises my ire. This is my community. Our local concerns are legitimate and portraying them as some sort of embarassing joke shows just how out of touch the ad team is.

I think you should be careful about the "financial analyst" in Afghanistan quip. I'm not arguing he was the world's greatest combat veteran, but he did serve as an armed driver in Kabul for some of the time. He also made that choice when he could have stayed home in South Bend. No doubt it was a calculated move related to his political aspirations, but a spade is a spade.

I'm not minimizing AA concerns, but if that's the argument, perhaps the ad should have made it.