McCain Ad: “Disrespectful”
posted at 7:30 am on September 12, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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See if you can catch the oxymoron inherent in the new campaign ad from John McCain:
He was the world’s biggest celebrity, but his star’s fading. So they lashed out at Sarah Palin.
Dismissed her as “good looking.” That backfired, so they said she was doing, “what she was told.” Then desperately called Sarah Palin a liar.
How disrespectful.
And how Governor Sarah Palin proves them wrong, every day.
The McCain campaign has called Barack Obama “the world’s biggest celebrity” for two months now, and not for bad reasons, either. However, after doing that, I don’t think they have much room to complain about a lack of respect from their opponent. “Good looking” sounds about the same as “celebrity” in this context.
Let’s not go down the road of becoming victims now, please. Republicans don’t win those kinds of arguments. The campaign needs to stick to the messages that really resonate with the public — energy policy, national security, and proven track records of reform. Attack ads should focus on Obama’s lack of experience and his doctrinaire liberal voting record, especially on the vote to protect infanticide in Illinois.
It’s Friday. Hopefully, this will be the last day of Victim Week.
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Negative politics will lose this election. And you don’t have to whine for most people to know who is being negative.
connertown on September 12, 2008 at 10:31 AM
No need to try and augment the indignation of the folks over Team O!s attacks on Palin, both direct as well as implied; they’re doin’ a good job on their own, aided by the nutroots and the MSM’s breathless echo chamber.
Time to get back on the message of Reform, Energy, and Eductaion…
These are the things the voters need to hear about now…
RocketmanBob on September 12, 2008 at 10:32 AM
About all I’ll say in favor of this ad it it’s a pre-emptive strike against the big smooch in the face Obama’s going to get on Saturday Night Live this weekend, which will be repeated ad nauseum on the Sunday morning talk shows and on the networks on Monday (and you just know Tina Fey is going to playing Sarah Palin as some sort of cross between Ellie Mae Clampett and David Koresch in a skit that the writers and the studio audience may find shatteringly funny, but will probably come off as condescending and/or patronizing to the people watching at home).
jon1979 on September 12, 2008 at 10:33 AM
Hate to run with the crowd but I have to concur:
I can see what they’re desperately trying to do. They’re trying to make this a dis against Palin, and by extention all women. But it comes off as desperate. It’s trying to play the victom card without actually laying the card on the table, and it’s not working.
It may very well keep the Obama team focused on Palin, but it also makes her look weak- and she’s not weak.
Browncoatone on September 12, 2008 at 10:33 AM
If she has any brains, she will be very careful in her portrayal of Sarah. There is an opportunity for her to be scorchingly funny without being achingly partisan. The line is a very fine one, and if she crosses it, she’ll end up doing what the Drive-By media did shortly after Sarah first appeared on TV a couple of Fridays ago. If thathappens, it’ll blow up in her face.
ManlyRash on September 12, 2008 at 10:42 AM
Actually I am hoping Michelle will clean house and hire some real conservatives
bill30097 on September 12, 2008 at 10:43 AM
My two cents:
I’m a woman and LOVED the ad. Not everyone knows about Obama’s “sweetie” incident (VERY revealing IMO: off the cuff and that’s what popped out of a Senator’s mouth addressing an adult professional?!?!) and what these clowns have said themselves since Gov. Palin was chosen. Otherwise many think the two of them are clean of the slams when they aren’t. The governor should cheerfully bring up the “good looking” line when she and Biden debate, as a throwaway joke. Smash his arrogant face in it!
I agree that we shouldn’t whine. I think the ad avoided exactly that, by using “disrespectful” instead of “sexist” and emphasizing GOVERNOR Palin immediately after. It looks like “hey, they’re dissing the governor of a state!” but believe me, most women and many men are also thinking “yah, disrespectful, AND SEXIST TOO!”
No whining required. Everyone gets it.
inviolet on September 12, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Parsing “disrespectful”
While I share the concerns expressed in the column (and by many of the commentators) I imagine that this ad was aimed at a very specific community – the people to whom dissing, or “disrespecting”, someone is a declaration that he or she is of personally greater status and value than whoever is being spoken to or of.
On the street, disrespecting someone often leads to a violent response – and it’s the people who know that who form, I think, the target audience for this ad.
Paul Murphy on September 12, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Obama’s response, “I didn’t call her good looking, I called her a Pig! Err ummm… I mean… i said.. She’s smells like an Old Fish!”
Chakra Hammer on September 12, 2008 at 2:48 PM
Zing!
geckomon on September 12, 2008 at 3:00 PM
During the Primaries, SNL had a running gag about how Hillary Clinton couldn’t get anyone to pay any attention to her because Obama was sucking up all the attention.
They could just reverse that now, with Obama sidelined while Bill and Hillary pretend to console him, but really loving every minute of it.
Also, it’d be really tough to do, but if they could pull off a live version of Iowahawk’s Bugs Bunny/Wile E. Coyote parody of the press, that would be awesome.
logis on September 12, 2008 at 9:03 PM
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