Wednesday, August 20, 2008

'Obama steps up anti-McCain message in his TV ads'

It's about time. Article here.

Barack Obama stepped up his hard-edged ad campaign Wednesday, launching two tough commercials against Republican presidential rival John McCain.

One ad, aimed at the most competitive states, criticizes McCain's economic policies as a boon to corporations. The other, meant for Atlanta voters, sought to exploit a fundraising connection between McCain and a political strategist linked to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Both ads are part of a quickly evolving Obama strategy that has featured a flurry of anti-McCain spots in targeted markets across the country. It signals a shift from the biographical spots that had been dominant in the weeks after Obama secured the Democratic nomination in June.

It also puts Obama in the same league as McCain, who has been running stinging ads against Obama, including a buzz-generating spot that compared Obama's celebrity to that of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

McCain's camp continued the theme Wednesday with a radio ad on Obama's spending plans. "Celebrities like to spend their millions," says the ad. "Barack Obama is no different. Only it's your money he wants to spend."

McCain's camp continued the theme Wednesday with a radio ad on Obama's spending plans. "Celebrities like to spend their millions," says the ad. "Barack Obama is no different. Only it's your money he wants to spend."

Obama aired about 10,000 spots last week, including 9,000 against McCain, according to Evan Tracey, who tracks political ads as head of TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group.

Still, because Obama is running a positive ad during the Olympics, the widest audience in the country is not seeing the negative ones.

During the same period, McCain aired virtually all anti-Obama ads. Of 13,000 spots, only 302 ads portrayed McCain as a political maverick and did not mention Obama, Tracey said.

Obama's strategy, Tracey said, suggests that his poll numbers show that the "positive bio spots that they've been running the balance of the summer don't appear to be making any significant connection with undecided voters," Tracey said.

Several new national polls show McCain beginning to close the gap with Obama. . . .

But while the ads might neutralize McCain's anti-Obama ads, they also could undermine Obama's image as a new style of politician who rejects divisive politics. . . .

The reality is that politics is divisive, so deal with it if you want to have any chance of winning.

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