Barack Obama's Final Pitch to Voters
His 30-minute commercial was designed to reassure voters he is ready to be commander in chief
It was a combination of biographical drama, celebration of the middle class, and simulated presidential address—all designed to reassure voters that Barack Obama is ready to be commander in chief and that he will fight relentlessly for everyday people if he is elected to America's highest office on Tuesday.
Obama's highly polished 30-minute political commercial, which ran on seven TV networks Wednesday night, featured the candidate as host, narrator, and star. It marked his final push to close the sale with voters who still have doubts about him and to motivate his supporters to actually get to the polls. Throughout, he emphasized his commitment to developing "an economy that honors the dignity of work" and pledged to battle for everyday people "every single day that I am in the White House."
The Democratic nominee focused on issues important to the middle class, such as tax cuts for every working family making less than $200,000 a year, improving health insurance, expanding educational opportunity, and freezing home foreclosures for 90 days amid the current financial crisis. And he linked his policy prescriptions to examples of real American families in key battleground states, such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, struggling to make ends meet.
Obama's ad—costing his campaign an estimated $3 million to $5 million for the air time—featured the candidate speaking directly into the camera as if he were the host of his own TV show. He introduced taped segments featuring Americans talking about their problems, followed by Obama making his pitch about how he would make their lives better. The campaign of Republican candidate John McCain blasted it as a "gauzy, feel-good infomercial."
The ad referred to how Obama's Kenyan father left the family when Obama was a boy and emphasized the role of Obama's white mother and grandparents in shaping his character and instilling in him the values of hard work, tolerance, and patriotism. It used the clever approach of making some of its political points by quoting the popular Democratic governors of key battleground states, including Tim Kaine of Virginia, Ted Strickland of Ohio, and Bill Richardson of New Mexico. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas also praised Obama's middle-class roots in a reference to his grandparents' background in Kansas.
But while Obama on Wednesday night was in soft focus and mostly positive, many of his other TV ads in the battleground states were sharply negative. They attacked McCain as an out-of-touch advocate of the same unpopular policies as President George W. Bush.
The half-hour buy also offered an insight into Obama's huge financial advantage over McCain. The Democratic candidate rejected public funding and has raised more than $600 million for his campaign. McCain accepted public funds and is limited to $84 million for the general election.
Meanwhile, John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, continued to press their own version of the Obama story—a decidedly harsh one. They said in separate speeches and their TV ads that Obama isn't ready to be commander in chief, is a tax-and-spend liberal who would make the economy worse and would shift the country dramatically to the left in conjunction with the Democratic-controlled Congress.
Reader Comments
The Obama Mistake. By: Jordan C. Fan, Prophet Of Environment
If you are not sure who to vote for or you are planning to vote for Obama, you are about to make the most important mistake in human history. If you vote for Obama, the U. S. will be "changing" from a capitalistic nation into a communist nation in 11 month since Obama first campaign for president. This is a enormous change in such a short time. Shouldn't you at least wait for another four years nd find out what will be involved in such a drastic change? Besides, Obama is still very young & can be eleted after another four years from now. His personality and abilities have been well proven. McCain has start campaign for president since the year 2000 every terms for eight years. He is getting old with much great experience and naturally should become president as his time is running out. The U. S. will beome a one (Democratic) party dictatorship if all three branches of the government (executive, judicial & legislative), also both House & Senate turn Democrats. The rights to bear arms & guns will also be taken away. By losing guns, you also lose all opportunities to revolt later if you don't like your government. More importantly, if you are mixing racial dominance & dictatorship, you are inviting halocaust, concentration camps & lost of your jobs and houses by another race different from yours. Electing a Black president is very dangerous when the U. S. is not fully integrated. When mixing racial issues with dictatorship is an invitation to holocaust, concentration camps & taking away all the belonging of a particular race. Obama is simply neither trustworthy nor electable. If you don’t believe my facts, simply look at what's happening in Congo today. To associate issues such as abortions & gun control to a specific political party who is based race are wrong. We simply cannot identify with White as owning guns and pro-"life". We cannot identify Blacks as pro-choice or gun control. In short, you are voting Obama to give away everything you own. It is especially true for Environmental Protection, they are the worse pollutor in the U. S. and the world. Democratic Party has lied &deceived the Environment and God during Clinton Administration as the U. S. political party for Environmental Protection which in fact their record are much much worse than the Republican. In fact Democrats have created the worse Environmental problems our world will or have ever faced. Uncontrollable destuction of the U. S. will come if Democrats were elected to any government offices. Hurricane Katrina destroying the Black Democrat community in New Orlean is a good example.
John McCain's Naval Academy. Part 2. continues.By: Jordan C. Fan, Prophet Of Environment.
John McCain's Naval Academy. Part 2. continues.
By: Jordan C. Fan, Prophet Of Environment.
Unfortunately, Maryland have 1.6 million Black or approximately 30 % of the state's population or making it the "Black Capital" near of the real U. S. Capital. It was 36 % to 61% (almost double) in favor of Obama over Hillary during the primary there. All media and people there have expressed the sad fact that little or noMarylanders will vote for McCain. I personally don't like McCain very much but my conscience forced me to campaign for him. This episode is not only the greatest disgrace of all Americans but also of that of the human race. It is an unforgivable sin committed by all Marylanders and her Black racists. I suggest the Government relocates its Naval Academy out of Maryland. Arizona is probably not a good location because it is a desert and has no water for the navy people. McCain should decide where it is going to move to depending on whether that state has voted for him. This time, the true and only battle ground states (Armageddon) are not Ohio, Florida or Michigan but Maryland. The decision is not who is going to become president? But whether God had made a mistake in creating man?
As usual with this letter I, as Prophet of Environment, have ended this election right here and now. People, advertisement and media don't bother to comment on the election again. It will a waste of our time. If Obama is elected the U. S. will become a dictatorship with Democratic Party controlling all branches of the government. The political system will be without check and balance. The Democrats will be free to pass any legislature taking away all the freedom of all Americans. May the Environment and the Great Halloween Spirits prevail to help McCain and Palin win. Since Sarah Palin has four (4) eyes, she should have no problems winning the "Buckeye State" -- Ohio.!
Obama cannot be strong in business and economy because foreign investment, foreign and American companies will simply move out of the United States. Who would want risk their hard earned money on a country who would soon become communist or social as Obama has suggested. Besides Obama simply anti-anything big business and anti-Chinese and Russian, etc... Why would any one want to have anything to do with the U. S. After all, Obama is simply a unlucky person whose mother was dead very young, supporter sch as Ted Kennedy is dying, his grandmother is dying, and many of his Black supporters are dying or dead in the last few month. How can he bring any good fortune to the U.S.? The democratic party when under the Bill Clinton administration has promised to be for protecting the Environment but in fact they have performed alot worse them the Republican in term of Environment projects.
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