Turning on a dime - Has McCain's "Celebobama" TV attack ad

[madeline_con]

Turning on a dime - Has McCain's "Celebobama" TV attack ad knocked the Obama campaign juggernaut off-course?
Posted August 5, 2008 | 12:01 AM (EST)

A Moment in Time
There was an infinitesimal moment just before McCain's "Celeobama" ad hit the airwaves when even Republicans held their breath, hedging their comments and ready to bail out should the ad backfire. The media, which can normally be counted on to exploit political missteps, also seemed ready to laugh off the old man. They were prepared to label it an act of desperation - the kiss of death in any campaign.

But Obama chose to respond with sarcasm rather than indignation - and so opened the floodgates that led to the worse possible insult that his campaign could ever suffer: not being taken seriously. Obama's oft-quoted sound bite, and his initial response to McCain, "...is that the best you can come up with?" sounded too dismissive and, alas!, arrogant. It actually played right into the ad's contention that he was beginning to act like a celebrity instead of acting like a president.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mario-almonte/turning-on-a-dime-has-mcc_b_116922.html

[cliffordu]

1. I didn't read the article, but in answer to the headline:

No. What the fuck is wrong with Mr. Mario???

[cbc5g]

2. I completely disagree "Is that the best you can come up with?" is a position of strength

Trying to say McCain was wrong would look like you were hurt and are a weak little baby

[KittyWampus]

14. Actually, it's an invitation for McCain to come up with even more negative crap

akin to Junior's "bring it on".

[berni_mccoy]

3. Wow, that is a warped interpretation... "Obama played right into the ad's contention"? WTF.

[kurtboss]

4. The Article's All Wrong on Assumptions

The media was pissed at Obama for their tight control of the foreign trip. They were pissed that it went so well it held the possibility of turning it into a cakewalk...lack of gaffes=lots of complaining by press. No one was backing away from McCain...where is the evidence for that?


The only sad thing is that the media let itself be dragged down into the most negative, least substantial, and most moronic week in Presidential politics. Only today am I starting to hear echoes of that refrain which should have been there from the beginning.

[madeline_con]

8. Agreed. There seemed to be amusement and the anticipation of a

debacle in the lead up to the trip. The MCCain't camp's whining made their m.o. transparent as soon as "why don't YOU go?" turned into, "What the hell are YOU doing there?"


I'm not in love with Almonte's tone.

"In recent days, Obama seems to have recognized the errors of his ways and has begun to "attack" his rival with substance rather that sarcasm."


I think it's more a response on Obama's part to those of us who keep yelling, "Are you gonna take that?"

I think he can be both eloquent and deliver a fiesty comeback from time to time, to shut McCain't down. It does not take anything away, but adds depth and another facet to his intriguing personality. The world wants to see if he's a scrapper. The time has come to scrap.

[Cha]

5. No, mccain's rove generated ad managed to piss off a

mccain donor whose daughter was featured in the ad along with Britney Spears and rove and mccain's fantasy dicks.

[scheming daemons]

6. Obama's answer was the BEST possible answer.... if he acted indignant, they would've POUNCED...

It would've been far worse.

[writes3000]

7. Of course. Today I saw pundits on MSNBC and CNN basically denouncing McCain's campaign & ads.

Even a Republican. Obama handled this one the right way.

[madeline_con]

9. Yes, his comment was dismissive, like brushing a fly off his sleeve.

[anonymous171]

10. Obama needs to smack this senile old fuck down.

And I don't care if that's ageist. That's what is needed to win. People need to think that McCain is too old (in both politics and years) to be president.

[DFLforever]

11. Watch Obama's ads closely. They ALL underscore McCain's

old, old age. He either looks very old or the script implies he's too old and looks only to the past.

In contrast they emphasize Obama's energy and future looking policies.

[JackORoses]

12. the writer of this article is a douchebag, pay no heed

[applegrove]

13. Obama needs to point out he got into elected office because of his accomplishments

and not because he was a celebrated (celebrity) war hero.