Video: McCain’s first general election ad
posted at 10:40 am on March 28, 2008 by Allahpundit
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An effective mood-setter, although the closing line is clumsy in trying to frame him as the “American” candidate. Obama has two basic strengths they need to neutralize, one the greeting-card appeal of Hope ‘n Change and the other his irresistible racial narrative. Enter the counternarrative, geared towards gravitas and an appeal to “harder” values in contrast with the Messiah’s inexperience and appeal to “softer” ones. The title says it all.
Exit question: Speaking of gravitas, whose dulcet tones are those rocking the voiceover? Answer here.
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Anyone else getting an error? Clicking through youtube tells me it is a private video.
nailinmyeye on March 28, 2008 at 10:45 AM
“video no longer available”
JetBoy on March 28, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Video no longer available? :{ \
?
Chakra Hammer on March 28, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Vid does not work.
And what is the “irresistable racial narrative” Really, I don’t get it.
georgealbert on March 28, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Uhh.. Now it works..
Chakra Hammer on March 28, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Once again I am too impatient… It works. Apologies.
nailinmyeye on March 28, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Watch this Video on his website..
http://www.johnmccain.com/courageous/
Chakra Hammer on March 28, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Powers Boothe is awesome.
Is he available for the VP slot?
Thompson/Boothe in ‘16 - the Hollywood ticket?
Professor Blather on March 28, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Can everyone see the vid now?
Allahpundit on March 28, 2008 at 10:48 AM
There goes Powers Boothe career.
peacenprosperity on March 28, 2008 at 10:49 AM
Very very strong ad. It will play out well in todays culture.
Weight of Glory on March 28, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Ok. link just worked. I think it is pretty good and I don’t think that the ending was clumsy at all. The American President Americans have been waiting for…
Well, it ends in a preposition, but other than that… it is a reasonable start.
georgealbert on March 28, 2008 at 10:50 AM
I didn’t know John McCain served in the Navy. Kind of like John Kerry never brought up his Vietnam experience. McCain has done many things since being a POW. Examine the whole record. He is a politician. And I don’t mean that as a compliment.
Branch Rickey on March 28, 2008 at 10:50 AM
That in this great country an upper middle class white kid from Hawaii can grow up to be an oppressed black man who sounds like he is from Alabama.
peacenprosperity on March 28, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Not a bad commercial….
Prof Blather… when do you ship out?
upinak on March 28, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Curly Bill Brocius.
One of my favorites in that movie!
nailinmyeye on March 28, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Good for openers and worth building on, IMO
petefrt on March 28, 2008 at 10:52 AM
It’s very much clumsy inasmuch as only one “American” would clearly imply the other — “the President Americans have been waiting for” or “the American President we’ve/you’ve been waiting for” works just as well.
“American President Americans…” just sounds clumsy.
chrisro on March 28, 2008 at 10:53 AM
Video is working.
As anyone here knows, I’m a big McHead. The only thing I didn’t like was the reference to “Ready on day one”…it’s just too “Hillary”.
I truly believe McCain will make a great POTUS.
JetBoy on March 28, 2008 at 10:53 AM
Mav’s firing this off in New Mexico tonight. Just one of many
purple states in which to take back for the good guys.
THE CHOSEN ONE on March 28, 2008 at 10:53 AM
June 13.
Officially Sgt. Blather now. For the moment. Lt. Blather soon. Hopefully.
Strange as hell hearing “Sgt” again after all these years.
You?
Professor Blather on March 28, 2008 at 10:58 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQsckD9trn4
John McCain: Courageous Service
Found it on youtube also..
Chakra Hammer on March 28, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Professor Blather on March 28, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Sept 16th.. DEP. Have to do my Flight Physical and a few other things before shipping out. For becoming a UAV pilot… man they make you do things like you were going to fly a jet.
Did you get AKO up and running? LOL have you got the “new” stuff done yet LMFAO… I about peed my pants looking at what they make new Soldiers do.
upinak on March 28, 2008 at 11:00 AM
awesome. But he copies Jeremiah Wright, who grew up a pampered upper-middle class kid in Philly. Where did either of these fellas pick up that drawl?
funky chicken on March 28, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Wasn’t powers booth the bad vp on 24?
liberrocky on March 28, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Must have been television because until they found that church neither hung out with blacks.
peacenprosperity on March 28, 2008 at 11:04 AM
Oh my god!!! Was he smoking a Cigarette in that ad????? What a horrible example for a would be president:
Olby- Worst person in the world prediction!!!
tottoritodd on March 28, 2008 at 11:06 AM
If he grants amnesty, it will negate any good he does. Facilitating the corruption of the US voting pool will be an epic train wreck for the US. The federal politicians they elect will soon become on par with Detroit or Los Angeles. The “Victim Class” will rule instead of the “Self Reliant Class”.
Just look ar the corrupt governments throughout Latim America. Victims vote for their own.
saiga on March 28, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Also Red Dawn rocks!!!!!!
Wolverines!!!!!!!!
tottoritodd on March 28, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Deadwood was an awesome show…
jp on March 28, 2008 at 11:09 AM
upinak, what kind of UAV? Hubbie’s looking at the Predator/Reaper for next assignment … which is one reason I worry about the Obama tendency to prosecute UAV pilots for
civilianhuman shield deaths should he become CIC.funky chicken on March 28, 2008 at 11:09 AM
McCain has been stoking the black backdrop of film noir, and should utilize BLUE hues instead of so much dark grey–steel or slate blue at least instead of black and ominous grey. His musical motif of the detache arpeggiating minor6th presents the sinister prior to the sostenuto counterpoint harmonies of the outer voices that BARELY frame lower case hope or courage over despair.
The ad is very good. It says what it says. It is bold, but bold on the negative fringe. Twilight Zone backdrops his message. Geez, its too real.
Since red for power statement against the chosen black is too overwhelmingly bold for “nuance”, then either give me more blue or at least a column of brilliant light! Where’s the flag?
–first impression.
maverick muse on March 28, 2008 at 11:09 AM
Early “Quote of the Day!”
Connie on March 28, 2008 at 11:10 AM
I haven’t noticed many non-politicians running for president, other than Ross Perot, and we all know how that turned out. Of course he’s going to use his military record, probably to excess, and I don’t like some of his positions either. This election isn’t about getting perfection,..it’s about preventing disaster.
a capella on March 28, 2008 at 11:10 AM
Nope, video’s not working for me.
4shoes on March 28, 2008 at 11:10 AM
Yes. He also played Jim Jones.
Connie on March 28, 2008 at 11:11 AM
funky chicken on March 28, 2008 at 11:09 AM
Funky unknown at this time, heck my MOS isn’t even known right now other then 15W UAV. They give that to you after AIT, as I re-enlisted.
But I will give you the fact that it is kind of scarey with Obama and Hillary looking at the military as a sacrifice to the Arabs.
upinak on March 28, 2008 at 11:12 AM
Not available it says!
wepeople on March 28, 2008 at 11:13 AM
chakra hammer
your link is to a different ad
almost a news release like Thompson’s 15 minutes.
maverick muse on March 28, 2008 at 11:14 AM
The action in immigration is gonna come at the state and local level, and it can and is working. Obama will quash these successful initiatives; McCain will not, or will be much more hesitant to do so. Here’s a short roundup from yesterday’s NRO Corner:
If immigration is your hot button issue, enabling an Obama victory is counter to your own goals.
funky chicken on March 28, 2008 at 11:17 AM
upinak LOL gotta love that rapid military information stream. Good luck and make sure you keep up posted!
funky chicken on March 28, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Unfortunately, I think McCain and the Republicans are going to let Obama define himself. You’ll see nothing but generic, flowery ads from the Right, while the 527’s on the Left will be grinding out the negatives. The GOP is weak as well as stupid.
At any rate, a socialist wanna-be like Obama combined with Democrats in full control of Congress should be fascinating.
Asher on March 28, 2008 at 11:19 AM
When President Reagan granted blanket amnesty to millions of illegals, did it negate all the good he did?
JetBoy on March 28, 2008 at 11:21 AM
it is a good ad and is meant to say, “I will be here for you. You may not like everything I do, but I will be here”
You can say what you want about him but what percent of the world population would have done what he did?
You can’t overuse it because you don’t want to be a one trick pony, but it is very moving. He was willing to give it all up and he didn’t have to.
tomas on March 28, 2008 at 11:22 AM
Powers Booth was also the bad guy in Tombstone
jp on March 28, 2008 at 11:24 AM
The McCain logo looks a lot like the McCain foods logo.
SpencerFan on March 28, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Yea, good one though..
Chakra Hammer on March 28, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Name this film with Powers Booth:
(Nick Nolte Voice) “Hell Cash, you quit a long time ago.”
carbon_footprint on March 28, 2008 at 11:32 AM
WTF? Jim Jones is narrating McCain ads from his cubicle in Hell?
Seriously though, not bad given that it’s just a minute. I like seeing the old black and white footage of McCain the Navy pilot. I think those images will play well with blue collar and older voters. I wish they would play up the fact that his father was an admiral and he refused early release by the North Vietnamese because he didn’t want to be separated from his less fortunate comrades (and it would give the Uncle Ho a propaganda win). That shows real honor under extreme circumstances. The black and white images combined with his story can have a powerful sentimental effect on many people. They should use that to counter the Messiah.
McCain knows what hope is, having been to a place where it’s almost extinguished. For Barry it’s just rhetoric to cover his Red Diaper upbringing.
Vote Sauron 08 on March 28, 2008 at 11:33 AM
This well counters the old Marine in AZ with the ugly story.
For the SNL idiot who called McCain “crazy old” study McCain’s parents at his current age. His mother obviously is as solid as ever, still. Who has his Admiral father’s decisions made at that point in life to present? Was he still active in the Navy or retired as is usually the case?
maverick muse on March 28, 2008 at 11:36 AM
The portion with the grainy flag backdrop could be the moment of brilliant true color to use instead of the persistent grey. Nice tie. OF COURSE the historical news footage should remain urtext.
McCain has a good opportunity to bless America with secure borders. For that I vote.
maverick muse on March 28, 2008 at 11:41 AM
Great ad. Makes me wish we could run out and vote today.
If the rest of his general campaign is anything like this I predict a landslide in November.
12thman on March 28, 2008 at 11:46 AM
Waste of money.
I can’t remember anything in it and I just watched it.
Points out zero differences. No memorable talking points.
McCain is already viewed as old and he shows himslef in a black and white video? How stupid is that? Most people have never seen B&W TV. ObamaX will destroy him.
I saw him give a great speech yesterday and you can’t even find the thing on youtube. ObamaX speeches are on youtube within an hour. Many good points in that speech could have been in a good ad.
He can’t coast along in the general like he did in the primary.
faraway on March 28, 2008 at 12:02 PM
There is a huge difference between 1-2 million and 20 million plus with no end in site because the border will still be wide open.
Valiant on March 28, 2008 at 12:19 PM
I believe you have already heard McCain talk about NO Talk about the people that are here until the borders are secured first.(That is what the American people want, and he has listened to them)
Chakra Hammer on March 28, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Actually, it was more like 4 million illegals back in the 80’s. And yes…one of the reasons for it then, was to actually curb illegal immigration. Obviously, that didn’t work.
But McCain won’t grant any “amnesty” iven similar to that. We have millions of illegals from South of the border here today. And any path to citizenship would be denied to criminals.
And McCain can’t make it clearer…he wants to seal the border. Nothing can be done until then.
JetBoy on March 28, 2008 at 12:37 PM
His choice in a VP is critical.
Montana on March 28, 2008 at 12:37 PM
It was a negitive stain on his record for sure. And, I have no doubt her would have not done it again. History has shown it was a cattle call for 25 million more problems.
saiga on March 28, 2008 at 12:38 PM
I don’t like the ad. “We’ll never surrender” is clearly not an attitude that most Americans have. American voters would want surrender if they thought the fight in question was pointless and fruitless. Here it just seems like McCain won’t consider all options. He needs to emphasize why we won’t surrender. But that wouldn’t give time for the Vietnam footage, we is also a poor choice: By now almost everyone knows that he was a POW and it’s probably not good to be reminding Americans of a surrender most Americans approved of. It’s also not good to have that as Senator McCain’s only given experiential qualification.
The list of things “we need to believe” about a President is also bad. Obama supporters do believe them about Obama, and this commercial implies that they don’t. In fact, Obama, as a young, mixed-race, charismatic man is the American president many Americans feel they’ve been waiting for. I hope McCain’s people realize all that before they commit significant cash toward airing this ad.
calbear on March 28, 2008 at 12:46 PM
A good kick off ad. Defines his campaign as American, Patriot, Experience.
Later he can micro define, but catch the moment. As the Dems are tilting, our side is calm, cool, in control.
right2bright on March 28, 2008 at 12:49 PM
With an adviser like Juan Hernandez, you still believe him? He just said that to help win the nomination. What is his plan for securing the border?
I didn’t think so.
Valiant on March 28, 2008 at 1:00 PM
WOLVERINES!!!
pseudonominus on March 28, 2008 at 1:04 PM
Reagan’s 1986 bill was designed to allow the immigrants to enter, after meeting certain criteria.
The politicians did not have the will to enforce.
In 1986, it was a small community (compared to the 12 mil plus now), and this was a way to gain control early on.
And to wrap it up, to be fair to Reagan:
right2bright on March 28, 2008 at 1:09 PM
Link is DEAD.
SillyRyno on March 28, 2008 at 1:10 PM
I dug it. He made me a get a little patriotic there…
spacekicker on March 28, 2008 at 1:11 PM
Strategy: Make a parody of every Obama ad he puts out. Then everyeone google/youtube bombs them so when people look for em, the parodies dominate.
- The Cat
MirCat on March 28, 2008 at 1:22 PM
WOLVERINES!!!
Bill C on March 28, 2008 at 1:26 PM
Reagan’s amnesty deal was like the deal to cut taxes with spending cuts to follow. Washington will never do the hard thing first.
Today, the debt and illegal immigration remain out of control.
Valiant on March 28, 2008 at 1:27 PM
a capella on March 28, 2008 at 11:10 AM
Actually, it’s about ALL of us being screwed with these 3 worthless PROFESSIONAL politicians!
Any proof that McSham is any different from The Obama or Her Thigness? He sucks up to Euroweenies as much as he does the NYT etc. He has fallen for the global warming hoax. Samuel Alito was “too conservative” for him before he even met the man….
Branch Rickey on March 28, 2008 at 1:41 PM
Go ahead and believe McShamnesty all you want. Don’t come crying when he stabs ya in the back. It’s his pattern of behavior.
Branch Rickey on March 28, 2008 at 1:47 PM
I like the first half or so. Positive, strong.
But too much time is spent on him as hostage/in the hospital bed. I don’t know what “analysis” they did, but I don’t see how such should persuade many “undecideds” to vote for him in November. Look/act/move forward. This is 2008.
Lockstein13 on March 28, 2008 at 1:54 PM
No offense … but if that’s your attitude, why do you care?
You won’t be voting. They’re all the same to you. And you’re getting one of them.
Unless you think there’s a realistic chance of a third-party candidate appearing … wouldn’t you be happier just staying off the political blogs and watching Love Boat reruns?
No. Really. I just don’t get the point of joining the discussion if that’s your view. Okay. They all suck. What do you plan to do about it? I mean, other than work to elect the most liberal, unqualified nominee in history?
Professor Blather on March 28, 2008 at 1:58 PM
The American President Americans have been waiting for…
As opposed to what…the Armenian President Americans have been waiting for….the American President the French have been waiting for….d’oh
ihasurnominashun on March 28, 2008 at 2:03 PM
Because I believe the remaining three media-selected turds masquerading as leaders means that I don’t care? Interesting
Haven’t decided yet but apparently you know me better than I know myself.
And Miss The OPPORTUNITY of free speech to express my opinions and take blinders off of people?
Work to have REAL conservatives on local, state and congressional level to block The Obama or Cankles or McVain. Does that help?
Branch Rickey on March 28, 2008 at 2:17 PM
Sorry, fixed it.
Branch Rickey on March 28, 2008 at 2:20 PM
Through some weird system at Youtube, one of the “Recommended Videos” after you finish this ad is a highly inflammatory segment from Alex Jones’s radio show entitled “John McCain, the Manchurian Candidate?” It actually suggests quite a few anti-McCain links. I doubt it’s malicious on Youtube’s part, most likely just a result of the system linking key words and numbers of hits for relevance, but I haven’t seen something like that before.
Typhonsentra on March 28, 2008 at 2:29 PM
+1 for the use of Powers Boothe, one of the best heels in Hollywood.
gabriel sutherland on March 28, 2008 at 2:53 PM
Professor, Could you clear that up for me? It seems to be O. K. for McCain’s Communications Director to not want to debate The Obama but conservatives should just STFU?
Branch Rickey on March 28, 2008 at 3:01 PM
My friends who are Mexican citizens inform me that they are “American”, too…as in “North American”.
It’s a very subtle pro-amnesty message, not a “clumsy” closing line. Nuance. McCain’s an expert at it, just like Clinton. Don’t let him fool you. Ask specific questions and demand specific, un-nuanced answers. Otherwise it’s “The Road to Socialism USA“.
Red Pill on March 28, 2008 at 6:46 PM
The ad is OK, but IMHO it’s nothing to get excited about. McCain has been on the political scene for years, who DOESN’T know he was a POW? McCain will probably get the votes of Viet Nam era folks, but I don’t see where this will get him any traction with younger voters. Whether the GOP likes it or not, the party desperately needs to bring new/younger voters to its ranks.
The video started out OK, but to me the ending was rather clumsy.
poodlemom on March 28, 2008 at 8:23 PM
I spoke to my Brother this afternoon, and he and I agree. Neither of us, both raised very Conservative, intend to vote for McCain in November. He can run all the 30 second ad’s he wants, and he’s still not a conservative. No Conservative looks to a new more powerful version of the UN for foreign policy. No conservative pushes amnesty. I could and would go on and on and on, but you all know it as well as I.
McCain, the worst candidate the Republicans have run since Gerald Ford.
Snake307 on March 28, 2008 at 8:23 PM
IMHO, John McCain has been playing above the rim for years…McCain Feingold, opposition to tax cuts, embracing global warming fearmongers etc are proof positive of gravity getting to him…And, he’s about as exciting as watching paint peel so he’ll need lots of help once the dems stop fighting each other. I suspect he will be bloodied in debates against the messiah. He would do better against Hillary since she is a fellow charisma sump but…Anyway, I flew with many Naval Officers as a Marine Aviator and I have yet to know of one qualified for the Presidency. I’ll include McCain in that group. Having spewed all this drivel I’ll add that he will get my vote in this critical election. Tsk Tsk…
Nozzle on March 28, 2008 at 8:46 PM
Rush had a great line today about Juan The Liberal…
Zorro on March 28, 2008 at 9:10 PM
Good Add, What Newspaper is in the Video about 0.40? NYT?
clover_dave on March 28, 2008 at 9:18 PM
Kenny G?
Oh, right, the other tones..
Reaps on March 28, 2008 at 10:30 PM
The ad is good. But, the fact that Cy Toliver does the voiceover makes it great.
Harmonic Mean on March 28, 2008 at 11:48 PM