Althouse: The artistic qualities of this McCain ad completely distracted me from whatever words were spoken or shown.

September 6, 2008

The artistic qualities of this McCain ad completely distracted me from whatever words were spoken or shown.

Watching this ad was a strange experience for me. I clicked on the teaser at Politico, so I knew "'Temple' ad mocks Obama's stage," and I'd already decided I was going to watch it, so.... Well, you try to watch it:

Was your experience like mine? I was fascinated by the photographic effects in the beginning, the changing of the image to remove the crowd, and the way the "camera" pulled back from the stage. Then, before other images took over, I fell into a deep contemplation of the music: Was it from (one of my favorite movies) "Fast, Cheap and Out of Control" or some other Errol Morris movie or was it simply music in the style of a sountrack in an Errol Morris movie? Could Errol Morris be making commercials for John McCain? If so, is he only in it for the money, does he actually support John McCain, or does he support Obama and somehow know how to hypnotize us so we cannot concentrate on the overt message, which is what happened to me?

In the end of the ad we are snapped out of it by the cheesy electronic music -- da da da da da da da da -- that ends most McCain commercials. So now that I've come to my senses, let me watch a second time. Okay, I've read the on-screen words and heard the concerned voiceover lady tell me Obama is "not ready to lead." But once again, I was struck by the artistry of the images and the music.

Oh, suddenly the irony of it all hits me. What I think about the ad is what the ad is trying to say about Obama! The style is fabulous, but what, really, is the content?

114 comments:

rhhardin said...: It's a place-holder for another ad you needn't trouble your pretty head over.; 9/6/08, 7:41 AM
George M. Spencer said...: Message was very clear:

A tiny black man controlled by old, ugly, pursed-lipped white men with tiny penises.; 9/6/08, 7:54 AM
ddh said...: I think the ad's message is that Obama is just a younger, flashier version of the old liberal Democratic bulls in the Senate, whose policies the viewer doesn't like. I didn't get the message the first time I saw it because I was busy identifying whose photos showed up. (Oh! There's Chris Dodd!); 9/6/08, 7:58 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: It will be labled an attack ad, as all McCain ads have been. It was very well done. I agree with George.; 9/6/08, 7:58 AM
rhhardin said...: Drudge is running Obama photos without halos now.; 9/6/08, 7:59 AM
Michael S said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/6/08, 8:01 AM
Bissage said...: [O]r does he support Obama and somehow know how to hypnotize us so we cannot concentrate on the overt message, which is what happened to me?

Well, I saw it a little differently. I thought I was being hynotized so that I could not possibly resist voting for McCain.

But let’s face it. The candidates are all playing by the same rules.

See what I mean?

The candidate who gets my vote will be the candidate who gets in the last hypno-session!; 9/6/08, 8:08 AM
Meade said...: Content: A vote for Obama is a vote for higher taxes and energy dependency. Obama not ready to lead because he's nothing more than a figurehead for liberal ideas that are proven failures.; 9/6/08, 8:10 AM
Unknown said...: What's the content? Obama's entire speech was about policy. What the hell is the content of McCain except POW, POW, POW, POW. Really, besides "drill here now", does he even have any policy proposals?

Oh sorry - I'm forgetting "MY VP popped out a retard - vote for me."; 9/6/08, 8:21 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: Larry said...
What's the content? Obama's entire speech was about policy.

That is a racist comment. Barak Obama knows nothing about policy. He is clueless. You are one of those typical White liberals who stereotype all Black men as experts on policy.

Policy is dead. Yes, many years ago, Black men ran policy operations in the hoods. They made tons of money and were known as policy kings. Obama is from a different cut of royalty. The state lotteries killed policy operations.

Barak Obama knows nothing about policy and probably does not know any people who ran policy operations. Of course many people who aspired to run policy became ministers when policy died.; 9/6/08, 8:38 AM
Palladian said...: All I saw was a swirling miasma of giant old white man heads, occasionally interspersed with a darker, younger head and some hazy vignetted off-color photographs of a thermostat, the Capitol dome and an oil rig?

"Then, before other images took over, I fell into a deep contemplation of the music"

KOYAANISQATSI; 9/6/08, 8:51 AM
miller said...: The ad is interesting but the many faces don't work for me. I don't recognize half of them, so I don't understand the importance.

I do like the 'snappiness' of the ad. It is is short and crisp. I 'get it' on the oil drilling and taxes. Easy to figure that one out.

It is a clever retelling of Sarah Palin's punching this week. When the speeches fade...when the Styrofoam Greek columns have gone back to the studio lot... & etc.

Nice.

(btw Larry, delightful snark! Really, you should do drive-bys more often, you're so effective.); 9/6/08, 8:53 AM
tom faranda said...: isn't the content obvious? The only thing the Democrats want to drill is your wallet.; 9/6/08, 8:55 AM
Anonymous said...: No sign of either Clinton in it, I observe.; 9/6/08, 9:04 AM
Sloanasaurus said...: I saw the ad is showing that Obama has no ideas and that the ideas he propagates are those of liberal old white men.; 9/6/08, 9:06 AM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/6/08, 9:08 AM
Sloanasaurus said...: Obama should release is college grades. I am interested to find out if he got into harvard on merit or because of the color of his skin.

I went to law school around the same time Obama did. I went to Wisconsin, Harvard wasn't even an option for me; 9/6/08, 9:33 AM
tjl said...: Larry says, "Oh sorry - I'm forgetting "MY VP popped out a retard - vote for me"

A perfect example of the left's mode of expression.; 9/6/08, 9:38 AM
Larry Sheldon said...: It must be a right-brain-left-brain thing.

I couldn't hear the music (old age? lap-top-sound-system? who knows) well enoght to think about it.

and I had to play it again to findout that it was a female-sounding voice.; 9/6/08, 10:03 AM
Larry Sheldon said...: It must be a right-brain-left-brain thing.

I couldn't hear the music (old age? lap-top-sound-system? who knows) well enoght to think about it.

and I had to play it again to findout that it was a female-sounding voice.; 9/6/08, 10:04 AM
John Richardson said...: I wonder why some of the more "famous" Democrats were excluded. The key exclusion that I can see is Ted Kennedy. He would be instantly recognizable.

Not to mention our favorite Kleagle, Robert Byrd.; 9/6/08, 10:05 AM
Mr. D said...: The ad does make the highly useful point that Obama is simply the frontman for a lot of really repugnant people and that his election will empower them. I do take your point about it being too artistic.

I think my sister was a student of yours, by the way.; 9/6/08, 10:07 AM
Anonymous said...: It's pretty hilarious how Obama-Biden and McCain-Palin are now running with the same message.

CHANGE, NOT MORE OF THE SAME

Now the question comes down to who will the voters think is more authentic?

This is turning out to be quite an election.; 9/6/08, 10:11 AM
Buford Gooch said...: As an old marketing guy, I can tell you that it isn't designed for your conscious mind, it is designed to go right past it. Trying to make conscious sense of it won't help. Watch it, then see how you feel, not what you think.; 9/6/08, 10:15 AM
Tom Spaulding said...: A double-posting idiot who can't turn up his soundcard? Who's the special needs baby here, Larry?; 9/6/08, 10:17 AM
Unknown said...: Anyone who insists on referring to Trig Palin as a "retard" should be dismissed as the idiot they are. As I said to garage mahal, Trig will likely grow up with more common decency than that.; 9/6/08, 10:17 AM
John said...: Methinks thou doth protest over much.

Apparently you are afflicted with the curse of the super-intelligent. Us mere mortals watch it and took from it that he's really just more of the same, surroounded by the same old Democrats, "Leaky" Leahy, "snippy" Reid, "I'm smarter than you" Biden, et al., and the same old Democrat ideas, more taxes, more spending.

But I'm not a lawyer or some other member of America's super class.; 9/6/08, 10:29 AM
Dangerous Dan said...: george commented, "A tiny black man controlled by old, ugly, pursed-lipped white men with tiny penises."

I don't know about that one, george. I'd nominate Leahy and Schumer as two of the biggest pricks in the Senate, with Reid and Durban in the running, also.; 9/6/08, 10:39 AM
K T Cat said...: Like you, I was distracted by the sophisticated cuts. Someone fell in love with their digital video editor.; 9/6/08, 10:44 AM
Moneyrunner said...: John,

A little snarky, but in the end I agree with your point. Were the images going too fast? Were the words spoken too rapidly? What was it about the ad that Ann failed to get? Or is there something about the ad that I failed to get because of my lack of sensitivity? Should we be playing this ad backwards to get the “real” message?

Signed,
Puzzled; 9/6/08, 10:47 AM
chickelit said...: dccupp said : CHANGE, NOT MORE OF THE SAME

I envision charges of unfair campaign theme infringement coming from Team Obama.

Can we talk about Oprah now?; 9/6/08, 10:53 AM
Anonymous said...: To the poster who said he would like to see Obama grades to see if his acceptance into Harvard Law School was based on merit. Obama didn’t put down his race on his application to Harvard. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and was President of the Law Review at Harvard. After graduation he taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School and turned down a tenured position. In comparison, McCain finished fifth from the bottom of the class of 1958. Despite his low class ranking McCain was leap-frogged ahead of more qualified applicants and granted a coveted slot to be trained as a navy pilot which was probably due to his famous name. Palin switched colleges 6 times in 6 years and graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Idaho. Neither Palin or McCain have advanced degrees.; 9/6/08, 10:57 AM
RightWingNutter said...: I guess I process multiple inputs a little better. The first sequence was an eye grabber. Then "OK folks, in the cold light of dawn it's back to reality."

Overall it looks like a push back response to the "McSame" meme that the Dems have been flogging. Flash through the themes that the current Congress, not Bush, is responsible for and ask "Do you REALLY want to go back there?"; 9/6/08, 10:59 AM
miller said...: President of the Harvard Law Review!? Wow!

Did he get to vote "Present" there, too?; 9/6/08, 11:01 AM
rhhardin said...: Anyone who insists on referring to Trig Palin as a "retard" should be dismissed as the idiot they are.

Wait a minute. What's wrong with idiots?; 9/6/08, 11:09 AM
Anonymous said...: One specific (negative) critique I have of the ad is that smarmy, cynical, generic political advertisement voice that narrated it. That so distracted me that I couldn't even concentrate on the pictures. I think the ad would be much more effective if the narration was spoken in a normal, matter-of-fact, more natural sounding voice - perhaps even by Sarah Palin. She managed to criticize Obama quite effectively without sounding smarmy and Washington-insiderish. The voice on the ad is just dripping with Washington-insiderism, which completely undercuts the point the ad is trying to make, in my (visceral) opinion.; 9/6/08, 11:11 AM
Anonymous said...: Do you think the admissions folks at Harvard could see the name "Barack Hussein Obama" former "community organizer" and not read the code? It let them pretend and get feel real egaliterian and make small talk about meritocracy in the faculty lounge.; 9/6/08, 11:13 AM
Stupe said...: If we are going to talk about the number of Presidents who've died in office, then it's only fair to talk about the number of Presidents who've been assassinated in office.; 9/6/08, 11:14 AM
SCClockDr said...: BO/JB desperately wants to tie JM/SP to GWB. Those attempts thus far seem feeble to this laser sharp Ad tyeing the abysmal Congressional Dem leadership milestone about the necks of OB/JB.
Great Ad - turning the table.; 9/6/08, 11:17 AM
E-ho said...: The message? That a vote for Obama is a vote for Harry Reid.

That Obama is a marketing ploy. That underneath the nice smile and the smooth rhetoric is the same old Democrat/Socialist power grab.; 9/6/08, 11:18 AM
Moneyrunner said...: Actually DEMO, he was not offered a tenured position, so he was in no position to turn it down. Others can take issue with your other points.; 9/6/08, 11:27 AM
Joan said...: Obama didn’t put down his race on his application to Harvard.

Newsflash: Obama didn't have to put down his race on his application. His father was a Harvard grad. You don't think the admissions committee could figure out that "Barack Hussein Obama" was the son of "Barack Hussein Obama", from Kenya? Sheesh.

I don't know whether Obama got in on merit, was an affirmative action pick or was a legacy admission. I doubt we ever will know. He graduated magna cum laude which means he came damn close to getting straight A's while at HLS (my ex-husband did too, just about the same time as Obama.) It's pointless to talk about Obama's intellectual capacity because being president isn't just about being "smart", it's about having good judgment and the ability to synthesize tons of information to make good, fast decisions.

From what I've seen, Obama avoids making decisions as much as he possibly can. He's a go-with-the-flow, go-along-to-get-along kind of guy. He drifted into Chicago politics and the machine put him where he is today. The only issue he's ever taken a stand on was the Infant Born Alive Protection Act. He's a puppet, and we have to wonder, if he gets to the top office, who will be pulling his strings? It's not his lack of experience that makes him "not ready to lead", as the ad says, it's his inability to make decisions on his own, and the question of who's controlling him now, and who will be pulling the strings if he gets into the Oval Office.

I loved the visuals in the beginning of the ad. I'm not so sure the rest of it was effective because I don't think most people will recognize those other faces.; 9/6/08, 11:28 AM
miller said...: Puppet with strings is a good moniker, I think.

I agree that Bambi has avoided hard decisions his entire life.

Voting "present" on difficult bills, while rationalizing every attempt to avoid the Born Alive Infant Protection Act is the mark of someone who is dancing to the tune of a secret piper.; 9/6/08, 11:32 AM
nick said...: was the Ad against John Mccain? he opposed drilling for Oil.; 9/6/08, 11:38 AM
miller said...: I think it was against Bambi. You might have to watch it a few more times.; 9/6/08, 11:48 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: The senators they used are perpetual whiners ala Tom Daschle. IMO.

The ad asks "do you really want these chronic do-nothing old white guys at the wheel"?

I think they should have included Joe Biden as well. They left Teddy out because he is ill.; 9/6/08, 11:51 AM
nick said...: again with the racist and GOP lies

Obama voted present on 180 out of FOUR THOUSAND bills

John McCain: 407 votes missed (63.8%), 231 votes cast; 9/6/08, 11:57 AM
Anonymous said...: Demo; law professors usually are lawyers who can't make a living as lawyers. The skill sets needed to be an executive are different than that of a professor. The president is the chief executive officer of the government, not philosopher in chief.

So far Obama has not proven he is capable of running anything. Never mind the policies he is advocating would be disastrous if actually implemented. Higher taxes, re-negotiated trade treaty's done during an economic slowdown. Brilliant! He wants to re-create the policies that caused a recession to turn in to the Great Depression. One has to be a liberal to believe in such things.No ordinary person cold be such a fool.

Obama is the marionette. George is right about that. Owned body and soul by the Chicago Democratic Machine which is the beard for the unions in Chicago. And the unions there are shall we say, a branch division of the Chicago Outfit.
I have no doubt that Obama really is at heart a leftist and truly believes himself to be a free agent.
So did J. Edgar Hoover until he was reminded that his other middle name was Mary.

Larry is a typical lib fantasist. I would love to get cheap dilithium crystals for my warp core engine. Unfortunately that technology hasn't been invented yet. There is science and there is science fiction. Libs and greens get confused between the two. Yeah drill here, drill now is a real solution as opposed to chasing windmills. As for popping out a retard, you should be grateful. In 18 years you will have an intellectual equal and a democrat voter.

Ayers, Rezko; a communist terrorist and a bag man once removed for Saddam Hussein. No doubt more to come. Palin tried to fire a rogue cop. Obama needed the help of a criminal to get a deal for his home. Orders of magnitude in difference.
McCain fought America's enemies, Obama befriends them. Hilary claims vast experience from what nobody knows other than being married to a governor and later president. Sarah didn't marry a governor, she was elected governor and there is the real possibility that 4 years from now not only won't she be married to a president but rather, elected president. Maybe this a bit too subtle for a leftist to comprehend

So next time you see Bill Clinton, just remember he will be the last democrat president you will see until 2016 at the earliest, perhaps not until 2020.; 9/6/08, 11:58 AM
nick said...: he george are you blind as well as a racist?

Obama is not tiny - physically or metaphorically; 9/6/08, 11:58 AM
Robert said...: The content is a LIE!; 9/6/08, 11:58 AM
miller said...: How is it a lie to point out that Bambi avoided voting yes or no?

Did he indeed vote "Present" 130 times?

Feel free to point out JSM's voting record. The reason the "130 'Present' Votes" is so effective is that Bambi hasn't done much else but proclaim that he's a leader.

JSM has actually done stuff.

Yeah, JSM comes across as a strutting peacock at times. Yeah, he likes to poke his finger in the eyes of his supporters.

But he has actually done stuff that requires hard work.

Bambi's record with JSM is to promise him something and then run away from his committment.

So Bambi can show his record of achievements in the USSenate. How many committee hearings did he hold during his 143 days? 15? 25? 100? Oh wait. I see the answer right here: ZERO.

You might want to be careful defending his "Present" votes.; 9/6/08, 12:03 PM
Anonymous said...: To the previous poster who made the snarky comment about voting present. My point is Obama didn't use his race or family connections, unlike McCain, to leap-frog ahead of more qualified applicants. If you can't argue the facts change the topic.; 9/6/08, 12:06 PM
papertiger said...: It's easier to understand in context.
John McCain is a fighter pilot.
Think of his campaign ads and press releases as aerial maneuvers to aquire Obama's "six".
This particular ad is in response to the characterization of Sarah Palin as the "naughty librarian" smear.
The Obama people heard some latenight talkshow joke and desided to make it into the story of Sarah Palin book banner (naughty librarian - snort yuckata yuckata "don't you get it?"); 9/6/08, 12:08 PM
miller said...: I'm sorry, but how did you leapfrog from "Bambi doesn't lead, he follows" to "JSM traded his family connections"?

Are you just summarizing some talking points? Perhaps you can just link to them next time so we can read them in full.; 9/6/08, 12:11 PM
Unknown said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/6/08, 12:13 PM
Fen said...: So Bambi can show his record of achievements in the US Senate. How many committee hearings did he hold during his 143 days? 15? 25? 100? Oh wait. I see the answer right here: ZERO.

No kidding. How can Obama Change[tm] DC when he doesn't even know how it operates? I'm not thrilled we McCain, but at least he already knows where all the pitfalls and roadblocks to reform will be.

You might want to be careful defending his "Present" votes.

Which is all Obama intends if elected President. Being "Present" for 4 years while he polishes up a few more memoirs. Who's he a front for? Soros?; 9/6/08, 12:15 PM
Unknown said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/6/08, 12:15 PM
Unknown said...: Wait a minute. What's wrong with idiots?

Nothing. And that's the problem. Unlike someone with Down's Syndrome, an idiot can't claim that his mental deficiencies are congenital. They are chosen.; 9/6/08, 12:16 PM
Fen said...: I'm sorry, but how did you leapfrog from "Bambi doesn't lead, he follows" to "JSM traded his family connections"?

Are you just summarizing some talking points?

Good catch. Its almost as if he skimmed down to a bullet point and did a cut n paste, without removing whatever propaganda doesn't apply to this particular point.; 9/6/08, 12:20 PM
cjm said...: it is clear to me what the underlying message is. obama and the dems are a malign and evil force. nightmare imagery straight out of LOTR.; 9/6/08, 12:21 PM
Anonymous said...: That ad is very good and have noticed that Obama's have been horrible over the last few months. More broadly I have no clue what Obama is doing in his campaign in the last few months. I turned on the tv today and he is in Indiana (does he even have a shot there?) It maybe the MC Hammer effect of too much money and employing too many people will destroy him.; 9/6/08, 12:21 PM
former law student said...: I recognized Robert McNamara and Newt Gingrich; that was it.

Obama's going to raise ordinary folks' taxes? Tax old people's life savings -- there is no wealth tax proposed that I know of.

Will we have to turn our thermostats DOWN in winter and UP in summer? Oh noes! The mind hearks back to Nixon dialing the White House air conditioning low enough so he could enjoy a fire in the fire place. Also to gloomy gus Carter, wearing cardigans and chastising us for our "malaise."; 9/6/08, 12:22 PM
Unknown said...: It looks like 44 years after Bill Moyers invented the subliminal political ad, the Republicans have finally discovered it. About time.; 9/6/08, 12:26 PM
Anonymous said...: A similar argument of guilt by association against Obama (Ayers, Rezko)can also be made against McCain (Keating, Gordon Liddy - close friend of McCain's). Character assassination, which Republicans are frankly better at, can be played by both sides.; 9/6/08, 12:27 PM
Unknown said...: BTW, I'm not the mentally deficient Larry upthread. Unfortunately, anonymous comments aren't allowed here, so I had to use my google identity.

Just a clarification.; 9/6/08, 12:31 PM
Fen said...: A similar argument of guilt by association against Obama (Ayers, Rezko)can also be made against McCain (Keating, Gordon Liddy - close friend of McCain's).

Comparing Obama's associations with Saddam bag-man Auchi/Rezko, Marxist terrorist Ayers...to McCain's assoc with Keating, Liddy and Rove?

Oh please don't throw me in that briar patch.; 9/6/08, 12:31 PM
miller said...: I would be happy to compare JSM's skeletons with Bambi's.

Let's see. Campaign starts with a known terrorist who tramples the flag Bambi won't wear. Cushy house supplied by a mobster. Sends federal money to his wife's hospital, which then works to make sure poor people can't go there.

Association with a banker who he later helped get put in jail for fraud (and cleared of the charges). Knows a man who served his jail time.

And...?; 9/6/08, 12:32 PM
Fen said...: And why is it "character assassination" to ask why Obama still has political alliance with an unrepentant domestic terrorist who sees the US education system as the prorper tool to advance Marxism [Ayers to Hugo Chavez].; 9/6/08, 12:35 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: DEMO said...
Neither Palin or McCain have advanced degrees.

So, what does that prove? Degrees or advanced degrees mean nothing; they do not denote intelligence or intellectual ability. They are certificates that one completed a particular series of courses of instruction.

Now, if you want to match experience and accomplishments; Obama- community organizer and protégé of patronage system in Chicago. Nothing there. McCain/Palin; years of public service accomplishing things. Does not take an advanced degree to figure that one out.

BTW- there is no constitutional requirement for a degree or advanced degree to run for office.; 9/6/08, 12:35 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: Tom Spaulding said...
A double-posting idiot who can't turn up his soundcard? Who's the special needs baby here, Larry?

He can’t help it. His mother chose to pop out a retard.; 9/6/08, 12:36 PM
TDP said...: "He's a puppet, and we have to wonder, if he gets to the top office, who will be pulling his strings?"

On top of that is the fact that if Obama is elected, as made clear from their actions in the campaign, the vast majority of the media will willingly fall under control of his administration - with help from Reid and Pelosi.

We the people will be told only what Obama's administration wants us to know.

Given the media situation and the potential for even larger Democrat majority in Congress, all the leading indicators are telling us to beware that we could be giving Obama, Pelosi and Reid virtually unlimited power.

Biden's and Obama's comments regarding prosecution of the current administration are the tip of the iceberg. Those comments are not simple pandering to the net roots to keep them mollified. The comments are clear indications that both men are very aware of the unbridled and unprecedented power they will have if elected.; 9/6/08, 12:37 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: fen,
A better question is why is no one asking about his political alliances with th corrupt Chicago Democratic Machine; Richard Daley, Todd Stroger, and Emil Jones.; 9/6/08, 12:38 PM
halojones-fan said...: During the "WILL RAISE YOUR TAXES" message, a family flashes onscreen; do they look Hispanic to anyone else, or is it just me?; 9/6/08, 12:42 PM
TDP said...: demo: "Character assassination, which Republicans are frankly better at, can be played by both sides."

You have got to be kidding. We are in the midst of the single greatest character assassination attempt in modern history: The left against Palin. The second greatest attempt is that of the left against Bush. Third? Left v. Cheney.

Republicans are running a distant fourth at best in this competition with their bashing of Bill Clinton.; 9/6/08, 12:44 PM
Anonymous said...: To moneyrunner who said "he (Obama) was not offered a tenured position, so he was in no position to turn it down", I would direct your attention to The University of Chicago Law School:

Statement Regarding Barack Obama:

The Law School has received many media requests about Barack Obama, especially about his status as "Senior Lecturer."

From 1992 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Barack Obama served as a professor in the Law School. He was a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996. He was a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004, during which time he taught three courses per year. Senior Lecturers are considered to be members of the Law School faculty and are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure-track. The title of Senior Lecturer is distinct from the title of Lecturer, which signifies adjunct status. Like Obama, each of the Law School's Senior Lecturers has high-demand careers in politics or public service, which prevent full-time teaching. Several times during his 12 years as a professor in the Law School, Obama was invited to join the faculty in a full-time tenure-track position, but he declined.

In the future moneyrunner, please check your facts before posting an opinion.; 9/6/08, 12:45 PM
miller said...: Pointing out that BHO consorts with criminals isn't bashing.

Pointing out that BHO avoids making tough decisions isn't bashing.

Pointing out that BHO trades on his titles and not his accomplishments isn't bashing.

However, it does make him squeal like a stuck pig.

Poor BHO. Born with a silver dollar in his mouth.; 9/6/08, 12:46 PM
Jaq said...: "Message was very clear:

A tiny black man controlled by old, ugly, pursed-lipped white men with tiny penises."

You guys are beyond parody. I can never tell if you guys are being ironic or not anymore. Do you really think that Obama's skin color trumps all discussion of his ideas?

The way I saw it was "A pretty new face on a bunch of old ideas that you young people don't know have all been tried and failed."; 9/6/08, 12:48 PM
miller said...: A law professor (Constitutional law professor) who thinks it's OK to go after previous administrations? Where, exactly, in the Constitution is that defined?

BHO didn't shut Biden up. That's the guy BHO picked for VP.

Goes to his inability to make hard choices. He chose Biden not because Biden could step in to the Presidency, but because Biden was from Scranton. Where folks are bitter and cling to their guns and religion.; 9/6/08, 12:48 PM
former law student said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/6/08, 12:56 PM
former law student said...: do they look Hispanic to anyone else, or is it just me?

No. They also don't look like the kind of family that grosses over $250K a year, the proposed threshold for higher taxes.

And let's get it right. People who have lost their jobs and their homes are bitter. That's why they cling to what they have left -- their guns and their God.; 9/6/08, 12:57 PM
miller said...: Yep, that might be true. Why can't BHO say that to their faces? Why does he run off to San Fran to say that kind of stuff?

Sounds a bit like he's afraid to say what he really believes.

Who is BHO, really? Does anyone know?; 9/6/08, 12:59 PM
SGT Ted said...: They left Teddy out because he is ill.

Yes, but if he had been a 17 year old pregnant child of a Republican he'd have been fair game.

And since there's a Down's syndrome baby of a Republican, I understand that "retard" is back in fashion again. Cool.; 9/6/08, 1:04 PM
miller said...: Yeah. Well, when will the socially pure leftists trot out the Kennedy kid that was lobotomized?

Oh wait, that would be bad taste and an invasion of their privacy.

However. Bristol? 17? Fire away!; 9/6/08, 1:09 PM
nick said...: Terry must be a moron
if he thinks we should vote

for a lying corrupt book burning creationist!; 9/6/08, 1:15 PM
miller said...: yeah! Can you believe it? She advocated BOOK BURNING!

The nerve! It's not like she was trying to ban "Huck Finn" like they do in Seattle. Now THAT'S an appropriate book to ban!; 9/6/08, 1:18 PM
former law student said...: Yeah. Well, when will the socially pure leftists trot out the Kennedy kid that was lobotomized?

Oh wait, that would be bad taste and an invasion of their privacy

Maybe because the man responsible, Joseph P. Kennedy, is not running for office, having died in 1969? And when the surgery took place, in 1941, it was recommended by two of the most knowledgeable neurosurgeons of that era. And finally, "that Kennedy kid" passed away three years ago, at the age of 86.; 9/6/08, 1:24 PM
miller said...: FLS, all true - but at the time, bringing it out was considered bad taste and an invasion of privacy.

Now, not so much.; 9/6/08, 1:34 PM
Peter Blogdanovich said...: I think the point of the ad is that the left wing power structure, as it exists today, is nothing but a bunch of old fossils who got into power during Watergate. Pretty potent stuff for we who remember Watergate, but I wonder about Gen-x and beyond.; 9/6/08, 1:37 PM
Moneyrunner said...: DEMO:

I’m rather surprised that you would make such a foolish attempt to change what you said when your original comments are still posted.
Here is exactly what you said, and I quote: “After graduation he taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School and turned down a tenured position.”

Beldar has a very good discussion on this topic here.

Listen my simple friend; a lecturer is not a tenure track position. In other words, as a lecturer he can’t get tenure no matter how long he lectures. If he wants to eventually become tenured he has to get on the “tenure track.”

In other words, he could eventually get tenure if he gets on the track. But since he never got on the track he could not get, or even be offered tenure. And if you re-read the Chicago law school’s press release more carefully you will realize that is exactly what they said.

So your statement is false. And PROFESSOR Althouse will surely testify to that fact. Next time you get into an argument I suggest you get YOUR facts right before you begin to bluster.; 9/6/08, 1:38 PM
TDP said...: Oh nick you are terribly frightened by Palin aren't you?

To be clear, Americans should vote for the ticket that they believe will be the best leaders. And, let's see, checking Pew, Rasmussen and others, that means McCain/Palin win by a clinging country mile.

And nick, deep inside you know that not only has Palin's nomination fundamentally changed this race to the Republican's advantage, but the fact that she can kick your ass seven ways from Sunday just soils your panties doesn't it?; 9/6/08, 1:40 PM
miller said...: I am also unclear about his title as "President of the Harvard Law Review."

Exactly what is that position?; 9/6/08, 1:44 PM
TDP said...: Oh, and nick, the little issue of Obama's church of over 20 years changing its website just as Obama began campaigning and the censoring of the Annenberg Challenge records relative to Obama and his "friend" and co-worker, Bill "Guilty as sin" Ayers will show that Obama is the candidate who employs censorship and coverups to get elected.; 9/6/08, 1:45 PM
Anonymous said...: The style is fabulous, but what, really, is the content?

Content = Obama isn't just playing the race card he IS the race card. He's a fabricated, relatively young black/white liberal yuppie front for old, creepy white men from the Washington establishment.

The problem with the ad is the final image. Don't show me a sequence of old White guy hack politicians and then show me Old Man Ziggy as the source of change.

The final image on the screen should have been the McCain/Palin name card.

McCain should never have been shown in the add. It lessens the impact.; 9/6/08, 1:47 PM
Henry said...: I really think the McCain campaign has found itself. The counterpoint to the negative -- Obama is more of the same -- is the positive -- we are the real change. It's a great message.

I only recognized about half of the Mount Rushmore faces, but I read my news, not watch it.

I did recognize Dodd. But who else will? Sad, isn't it that a guy whose appearance is very memorable (that white rabbit hairdo) and who recently ran for President is still this obscure?

The fact that the Democratic leaders are so blandly forgettable is important. In years of dispirited opposition and two years of power, they haven't done anything. Say what you want about Gingrich, but people knew who the heck he was. In opposition he attacked with vigor; in power he got things done.; 9/6/08, 1:54 PM
miller said...: oh, and the book burning? Flat out lie.

Do try to keep up.

http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/09/05/official-obama-website-repeats-fake-banned-book-list-and-embellishes-the-story/; 9/6/08, 1:58 PM
Henry said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/6/08, 2:05 PM
Anonymous said...: "DEMO said...

A similar argument of guilt by association against Obama (Ayers, Rezko)can also be made against McCain (Keating, Gordon Liddy - close friend of McCain's). Character assassination, which Republicans are frankly better at, can be played by both sides."

What did Liddy actually fo to jail for? Lets see, at a time when we were at war and the dim candidate's staff and supporters were riddled with Ayer's, Dohrn's and other radical communists and their fellow travelers who were the precursor of MoveOn.org and the like. They were actual Soviet fronts, what Liddy did was the right thing to do.
Investigate whether traitors and enemy agents were infiltrated in the democrat party. They were and still are. But Obama is proud to serve on a board of directors for a communist front alongside an unrepentant terrorist. Character assassination is a lefty specialty. You are hearing the truth but can't stand it and your guy is being killed with the facts.

The Keating 5? 4 of them were democrats. McCain was the one exonerated. No similar argument can be made. Facts are stubborn things and all the whinnying does not change the fact that the far left, the treason wing of the democratic party is running the party.

Obama is going to raise taxes on the rich. Only an idiot or a democrat would (but then I repeat myself) would foolish and naive enough to believe that. Look at the jobs listing in the paper or on the net. How may poor people do you see offering employment? The so-called rich are largely the small businessmen and woman who employee 75% of the workforce. Raise their taxes and their expenses and guess what and whom will be the first expense reduction. And when their profits go down so will their taxable income and hence the total taxes they will pay. Who said local and state employees can't get laid off? They can and they do. Even federal workers are not immune.

Have a pension fund? Guess what those funds are invested in? Have a 401k, guess what they are invested in. Civil service pension? Guess what those funds are invested in. And if the wealthy are hit hard enough, there isn't going to be the tax revenues to cover the pensions.The bullet aimed at the rich always ultimately hits the poor and middle class.

Obama and his commie supporters need to win. McCain unlike Bush, will prosecute those traitors for their treason and sedition. Palin for sure has the brass to do it.
Speaking of taxing the rich, Harvard with its 16 billion endowment needs to stripped of its charitable and non profit status along with the other super endowed universities and large "charitable" institutions like the Ford Foundation. Let them first pay taxes on the income and then they can use the net(investment revenues before expenses) to fund their causes.; 9/6/08, 2:06 PM
Henry said...: Here's the Anchorage Daily News take on the mystery of the scorned librarian.

Palin sounds a bit off-kilter in this version (why even ask the question about banning books?), but no books were banned. There was no list. And it's hard to be sympathetic to a political appointee losing her job when she campaigned for Palin's opponent.

I have a friend who was recently promoted from a civil service job to an appointed position. He took the new job with no illusions that he served at the pleasure of the mayor.; 9/6/08, 2:07 PM
Anonymous said...: First time I saw this, the TV was muted.

I saw the arresting images, saw the words on the screen, the parade of the 9%-approval rating entrenched tax and spend do-nothing congressional liberals starring the ever-dour Harry Reid and, of course, "Not ready to lead."

No argument here.

Now that Sarah has convinced me (and millions more formerly "not one dime" conservatives) to open my wallet, I expect to see more of 'em.; 9/6/08, 2:09 PM
rhhardin said...: Obama is not tiny - physically or metaphorically

Who has the biggest figure of speech.

For Obama I'd suggest onomatopoeia (real audio); 9/6/08, 2:35 PM
rhhardin said...: Onomatotopia is where names live.; 9/6/08, 2:36 PM
Anonymous said...: "former law student said...

Yeah. Well, when will the socially pure leftists trot out the Kennedy kid that was lobotomized?

Oh wait, that would be bad taste and an invasion of their privacy

Maybe because the man responsible, Joseph P. Kennedy, is not running for office, having died in 1969? And when the surgery took place, in 1941, it was recommended by two of the most knowledgeable neurosurgeons of that era. And finally, "that Kennedy kid" passed away three years ago, at the age of 86."

FLS it may have escaped your attention but the Kennedy fortune, the money that still floats the family of scum, was founded by old Joe on war profiteering,stock market swindles,insider trading and government sweetheart deals. And that is without the mob connection. And the bulk of the trust funds are sheltered overseas and not taxed by the IRS. Taxes for thee but not for me.

As for the silly comment about the bitter people who are having their homes foreclosed on: too bad. Only a moron would buy a home with an interest only mortgage that is going to reset. They could never have afforded what they bought. It was democrat policies in the 90's that created this disaster along with the stock market bubble. Funny thing is that folks who actually bought homes with conventional mortgages with real equity are not the ones being foreclosed on. And the unemployment rate today is no higher than Clinton's. Its the speculative bubble caused by the Clinton policies that lead to this mess, just like Carter's idiocies lead the the savings and loans disaster in the late 80's.
It never fails, the democrats get blind drunk and piss and puke all over the place and the republicans have to come in and sweep and clean the mess.

If Obama is emblematic of a Harvard education, then truly its a ripoff of the highest order.; 9/6/08, 2:43 PM
Godot said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/6/08, 3:04 PM
Godot said...: What strikes me most about the ad is there are no women "liberal allies" attacked.

I'd say (if I had only seen the ad on TV) it's primary effect would be to leave me with a vague sense of emptiness and foreboding.

There's that large, almost nuclear, flash over Obama in the stadium, underscored by a doomsday kettle drum - and then all the celebrants disappear. We exit this frame with a snippet of martial snare.

We see a series of dour men in front of the capitol dome - none of whom will look you in the eye. The dome is that sort of corpuscular red which I associate with 1950's newsreel animations - the spilled blood of communist aggressions slowly creeping across a map of the free world.

The sky behind the dome is a dark, unnatural slate grey. Cold. Bleak. Nuclear wintertime.

Obama gets two frames in the ad. Neither picture is grim. He appears once as a lecturing cardboard cutout, and once flashing his second-best smile. Why is this man smiling? Can't he see that the commies are in the capitol and winter is on the way?

The young family and the retired couple both look washed out and slightly florescent. They look like unhappy memories.

The woman turning down the thermostat is too colorful to fit in here. She has stylish, Royal Tenenbaum type wall paper. I can't be worried for her. The oil rig features the only bit of bright blue sky.

I think fellow commenter buford gooch is right on the money. This ad is designed to make you feel ... worried.

And I do like the McCain stinger tone at the end. It feels positive
and familiar, with the faint hint of a breaking-news tone.; 9/6/08, 3:29 PM
Anonymous said...: Huh?

I think it was a very clear and well-crafted ad, though it might confound those who don't know anything about politics prior to February 2007.; 9/6/08, 3:48 PM
The Monster said...: Neither Palin or McCain have advanced degrees.

Keep it up:

If they go after her for lack of an elite education (she is a University of Idaho graduate), they take the Seven Houses off the table. It undermines Obama's packaging as the agent of change; like the sitting President his supporters despise, he has degrees from two different Ivy League institutions. In fact, a majority of Presidential nominees from both major parties since Carter (the last Naval Academy graduate to be nominated) have at least one Ivy diploma. Only Dole (Washburn University, Topeka: MIAA), Mondale (University of Minnesota: Big Ten), Reagan (Eureka, IL: IIAC), and McCain (Navy) have missed out. Who represents "Change"?

While we're at it, let's not talk about the candidates for President. Let's look at Democratic Vice-Presidents who became President due to the death of the latter in office. Lyndon Johnson graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers' College, and Harry Truman never earned any college degree at all. So no looking down your noses at an Idaho Vandal, please. Between Sarah and her husband Todd, the Toby Keith Democrats should come over in droves.; 9/6/08, 4:08 PM
Godot said...: Also ... each shot in the ad is framed by a gradated, circular black border. It adds a subliminal impression of peeking through a hole - or peering into a lens - to view the events depicted.; 9/6/08, 4:17 PM
vbspurs said...: I'm sorry, that's a horrible ad.

Since the Celebritney Obama ad, McCain's campaign ads have had tight editting, and strong visuals.

The adrenaline cutting on this version makes me fear for epileptics, now that they don't watch Mary Hart.; 9/6/08, 4:29 PM
veni vidi vici said...: On the issue of school admission, DEMO is correct; more importantly, why would/should it matter now that the candidate's almost 50 and has a life's experiences on which to judge him by. The AA meme really sounds like race-hating to these ears, although I understand the idea behind it. Best to drop it and leave the petty stuff to one's opponents, I always say.

With regard to Obama trying to tie McCain to Bush, etc., am I the only one who noticed that Obama now regularly uses Brooks & Dunn's "Only In America" themesong after his speeches/appearances, as he did in Denver? Go back to 2004: it was Bush's theme song at every campaign appearance.

The irony there is killing. Nice storysong, though.

v; 9/6/08, 4:47 PM
former law student said...: And I do like the McCain stinger tone at the end. It feels positive
and familiar, with the faint hint of a breaking-news tone.

It reminds me of the theme from my 80s Burger Time game for Intellivision.; 9/6/08, 9:50 PM
vbspurs said...: Well, whaddayaknow. Showed my mother this add, and she thought it effective.

I trust her instincts more, since she's not on blogs at all, and thus can come to a political situation with a fresh perspective.

Cheers,
Victoria; 9/6/08, 11:22 PM
nick said...: miller is a moron

mccain voted present 2455 times; 9/7/08, 12:41 AM
M. Simon said...: Look, you guys don't get it. We could do a lot worse than ∅bama. We could get Biden.; 9/7/08, 8:32 AM
DaMav said...: I thought it was a good advert. Who sent Obama? Same old same old.

Sorry if you found the shiny things distracting :-); 9/7/08, 1:01 PM