September 3, 2020

MSNBC commentator oozes enthusiasm: "That ad just oozed the message of his campaign... empathy..."

I don't have to specify that they were looking at a Biden ad. The bias in news media is so obvious that you probably think it's dumb to mention it. I know I'm just asking for reiterations of comments I've seen a thousand times: "You're just noticing?!" No, I'm not just noticing. I noticed it since at least January 1969 when my high school history teacher analyzed the NYT coverage of the Nixon inauguration.

Here's the ad. It's a standard political ad, old-fashioned and conventional.



The success of this ad depends a lot on whether hearing the voices of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris makes you feel warm and hopeful. I think you need be be in the mood to feel calmed. I know I like seeing images of a fatherly young black man reading a child a book that says "love" on the cover, and maybe the ad is really directed at centrist white women like me. But I felt a critical distance, perhaps because I was so put off by the MSNBC person going all ooey-gooey about the oozing empathy.

To be fair to MSNBC, they had just shown the ad, so presumably the normal TV audience was given a chance to feel the feelings that the ad was constructed to inspire. I was not the normal audience, but a car driver listening to TV on the satellite radio, and I jumped in late, after the ad. But much as I love love and want to see more love in politics, I want a President who'll be tough and fair and willing to enforce law and not stand back ineffectually while cities burn.

To some extent, I like the ad because it's so bland and ordinary. Trying to remember it, it seems like something that could have run on broadcast TV in the 1970s. It could reach me in my "I'm for Boring" place. I did vote against Trump in 2016 because I thought he was too weird to be President. He's still very weird, but I have gotten used to him. He's the prevailing norm in a hellish year. I think Americans can be lured into dully hoping that to vote for Biden is to turn the page.

By the way, the MSNBC folk assumed the ad was directed at black voters.

67 comments:

MartyH said...

If qualified immunity is going to be modified for the police it should also be modified for judges and DAs. Refusing to charge rioters in Portland should expose the DA to lawsuits in the case of subsequent crimes committed by that individual, for example. Don’t hang the tip of the spear out to dry if the whole system is as corrupt as these people espouse.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

I was watching HULU last night. I would guess that 80% of the ads were Biden commercials. Is Trump even running ads on television? I never see them.

iowan2 said...

Only a racist sees race in this ad.

That's the problem leftists have. All they see is skin color and start making assumptions. Like they are less than, and need help and protection from politicians.

Birkel said...

"...too weird to be president..."

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Birkel said...

Imagine how weird the on-eyed man is to all those blind folks.

Sebastian said...

"the ad is really directed at centrist white women like me"

Besides GOTV red meat, they all are. Nice white women have the final say. Sad but true.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Bland pandering, with a strong whiff of anti-police bias. I shudder at the thought of Kamala writing “national policy on use of force” and micromanaging decisions made under pressure. Fine. Maybe some sang to hear that. I want to hear that they are going to hold responsible the people BURNING LOOTING KILLING and causing mayhem. They won’t criticize those people by name. They can’t. Trump condemned the imaginary white supremacists reporters insist on asking him about over and over. Do you recall that every day for the first two weeks of his campaign in 2015 Trump was asked about and disavowed David Duke. Look it up. Has Biden EVER been asked to denounce even just the VIOLENCE committed by BLM and antifa? Even once by name? No. Biden is a coward. Biden’s soft focus ads can’t reverse his lifetime of cowardice in confronting leftist violence.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Oozy. Yuck!

Gordy said...

I think Americans can be lured into dully hoping that to vote for Biden is to turn the page.

Women, maybe.

Mid-Life Lawyer said...

I like the tone of the ad but when I see pictures of a fatherly black man reading to a small black child, I think about how Democrat policies have perversely acted to diminish the prospects of that event happening and how this absence of fathers in homes is the root cause of most of the pathology in black culture. The ad is not designed for people who think, however, but for people who feel and I realize that the feelings voters are the majority. It's probably an effective ad.

mockturtle said...

So...you're a 'centrist'?

Darrell said...

Missing from the ad--every bit of treason by the Democratic Party over the last four years. They should caravan to Honduras to escape prosecution.

Bob Boyd said...

Come on, Man!

You've been there almost 50 fucking years! What have you been doing all that time?

I didn't hear anything about good paying, respectable jobs. I didn't hear anything about school choice.

#Joeisasshoe

Jamie said...

I'm so depressed by all of this. How can the Left -the Democrats, the media, the faculty and administration of almost every school at every level, the entire entertainment industry that sets the cultural table for all of American society - how can they believe that this drive to elect a president based on how he makes you feel is a good thing? Is national politics now the Oscars? Though at least the Oscars give lip service to the quality of the candidate's work - this is voting for prom king. Maybe he'll dance with me if I vote for him...

Except that in this case, the aspiring prom king's fans (and those who don't give a hoot about him but think they might get his sloppy seconds or something) are marauding through the halls shoving people into lockers to try to garner votes - and it might freaking work.

Bob Boyd said...

Robot Biden 2020

"Build Biden Better"

Darrell said...

I see Biden as the lying dog-faced pony soldier he is always screeching about.

Lucid-Ideas said...

Fuck empathy. With a capital F. I know I speak for many when I say I - and we - are way beyond empathy.

Yancey Ward said...

"I was watching HULU last night. I would guess that 80% of the ads were Biden commercials. Is Trump even running ads on television? I never see them."

Do you remember 2016? Hillary! ads ran 100 to 1 vs Trump ads on television, too. I think Trump's campaign understood something that a lot of politicos don't understand even now- the value of political advertising on television is approaching zero. Even on-line political advertising is approaching zero in regards to the standard video/talking ad.

Lucien said...

Qualified immunity is a defense to §1983 actions — it is irrelevant where state law makes government actors liable for their wrongs.

Iman said...

Biden is a sputtering coward.

MacMacConnell said...

Great ad, middle class successful Blacks who have been oppressed. Probably didn't grow up in homes without fathers or race baiters and public school teachers telling the they're born losers for being Black. Being told White folks hate them and want them to fail.

daskol said...

Oozing is bad persuasion. You want to knock someone upside the head or you want to subtly lodge something in their brain, but you can just wipe ooze off.

stlcdr said...

"...turn the page"

To what?

For one thing, he and Kamala want to ban guns from individual ownership, and, ironically only have police forces with any kind of firearms. And they will use federal forces - force - to enforce their desires. They will bypass state and individual rights.

Fernandinande said...

So...you're a 'centrist'?

I thought the same thing.

Sally327 said...

Donald Trump may be weird but he ran on very specific ideas in 2016. Hillary Clinton is weird as well, incredibly so, and also corrupt, but mostly she didn't run on ideas. I remember the summer of 2016 having to endure countless ads from her campaign (I live in a purple state) and they were mostly void of content, just some gauzy pablum from which I was supposed to extrapolate that Hillary would make everyone's lives better. Or they were attacking Trump as a weird bad man. (I guess those ads worked for one voter.)

I don't think a similar approach will work all that well this time either. But it's interesting to contemplate the idea that the populace could be anesthetized by a series of banal, policy free ads and in this semi-comatose state be easily manipulated into voting for Biden. This seems to discount the extent to which edgy is the norm now, pretty much all the time, everywhere in everything.

RMc said...

It's oozing something, all right...

Michael K said...

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...
I was watching HULU last night. I would guess that 80% of the ads were Biden commercials. Is Trump even running ads on television? I never see them.


I see lots of Biden ads in the few minutes a day I see TV. That's where that $300 million is going. The big money has been behind this all along.

Wince said...

It could reach me in my "I'm for Boring" place.

Yet, when you take the "ah" out of empathy, you are left with "empty".

Tommy Duncan said...

When you can't run on issues you stir the emotional pot. It's all they've got.

I think Trump is letting the Democrats play their hand. Biden is spending big on ads right now while Trump is patiently waiting. Biden has given Trump a treasure trove of material. It will soon get ugly for Biden.

Rory said...

"If qualified immunity is going to be modified for the police it should also be modified for judges and DAs."

Hell, wouldn't you love to put bodycams on the suits?

Fernandinande said...

Only a racist sees race in this ad.

The whole thing was racial pandering.

The ad starts out with

"Why in this nation, do black American wake up knowing they can lose their life in the course of just living their life?"

and then the rest of the ad dishonestly implies that blacks are being murdered by the police and white racists.

It's a standard political ad, old-fashioned and conventional.

I guess dishonest race hustling is "old-fashioned and conventional" to centrists. ...snort...

Unknown said...

If you can fake sincerity, you got it made.

rcocean said...

Ads that are really aimed at white suburban women are often mislabeled as being directed at blacks. Biden doesn't need to aim ads at black voters. They for him 90-10 no matter what. He only need turnout from them, and that's not a "Turnout ad". The whole point of the BLM marches, and the focus on police brutality is to energize black people to vote. Message: "racists are coming for you. Go out and vote D"

This is a soft=soap, lets everyone do the right thing and come together ad. So, its aimed at white liberals and centrists. BTW, never forget that ads are aimed at people who are low information voters, who don't really care much about politics. People who care, aren't swayed by ads. Althouse is the exception not the rule. She's just conflicted, most swing voters are just blase and uninformed.

rcocean said...

Someone on the radio said Biden should run on a platform of "Bringing us together" which I thought was a bit rich. After all, Biden and the D's are the one's who've been tearing us apart for 4 years. They've driven a lot of moderates to support Trump because they don't want to reward the D's and the media for throwing a 4 year temper tantrum and refusing to recognize Trump as President.

stevew said...

MSNBC is wrong, the ad with an empathy theme, sprinkled with love, is targeting women, white women, in the suburbs.

Is Joe advocating that as POTUS he would unilaterally go into the violent cities and fix things?

roesch/voltaire said...

It seems clear from the selection, and omissions, of your recent posts that you have gotten used to Trump, the lies, exaggerations, the ego, the violation of the Hatch act, the self profiting from his golf courses, the agitprop photos, etc. I wonder what has happen to your cruel critical lens.

Bob Smith said...

Jamie said: “ this is voting for prom king. Maybe he'll dance with me if I vote for him...”

Dem pols have been plowing that “next time it might be me” furrow since Kennedy at least. Got a couple of women killed.

stevew said...

And another thing: Independents, particularly young ones, don't watch TV. There are no ads, political or otherwise, on subscription services like Netflix, Prime, Hulu, HBO Go, Starz, etc.

NCMoss said...

I'm surprised they haven't been accused of promoting the patriarchy or pointing out the root cause of racial inequities.

Not Sure said...

All cops must be bastards to want to kill the the sweet children of all those intact, happy families.

Swede said...

Dems could run an ad of Christ Himself descending from Heaven to support Joe Biden and all Trump has to do is run spots showing Biden touching and sniffing kids and women.

Biden is his own opposition ad, the creepy fuck.

mikee said...

Joe Biden has stage 3 dementia, maybe early stage 4 dementia, and Kamala Harris couldn't get her own party to support her through even a single primary vote.

You could have an ad with promises of cash money in suitcases for each Biden/Harris voter, and it would not change the truth of his dementia or her lack of support.

Bay Area Guy said...

Biden should play this ad at the next Antifa social dance hall meeting,

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Althouse, RV demands to see your manager!

Achilles said...

I did vote against Trump in 2016 because I thought he was too weird to be President. He's still very weird, but I have gotten used to him.

And people always exclaim "How did Germany let the Nazi's come to power? That could NEVER happen here."

Really any sentient person should be ashamed at this point for being stupid enough to ever vote for a democrat.

Ice Nine said...

Biden's voice (might) makes you feel warm and hopeful? Sure, maybe. Harris' voice? Not a chance -- it absolutely repels.

bagoh20 said...

I just find Democrats' messages insulting, and I'm not even Black. If I was, I'd really hate the party of slavery, Jim Crow and the KKK. Their messages seem to openly assume Blacks are stupid, and driven entirely by emotion. Of course, some people are, but a political ad is aimed at the entire group, so they are profiling an entire race that way.

Trump's alternative message: Look around, see what Dems have done for you. They promise to care for you, that they feel your pain. I simply promise to treat you as an equal, so judge for yourself, and ask what do you have to lose?

That's a respectful message sent to adults that you see as equals. It won't work on anybody who is looking for a handout and willing to give up their dignity and freedom for it. Those are Democrat votes, out of reach for Trump anyway.

bagoh20 said...

"It seems clear from the selection, and omissions, of your recent posts that you have gotten used to Trump, the lies, exaggerations, the ego, the violation of the Hatch act, the self profiting from his golf courses, the agitprop photos, etc. I wonder what has happen to your cruel critical lens."

Relax. She did the same for Obama. You however were blinded by partisanship, and like the press, now can magically see again, including hallucinations as a bonus.

Amexpat said...

They need to strike a balance between supporting BLM and taking a stand against the rioting.
So this ad would work if coupled with other ads that are tough on rioting radicals that are exploiting the BLM movement for their own purposes.

I noticed that Harris is now saying reform the police instead of defund the police. Someone with political smarts in their campaign made sure to make that distinction.

Joe Smith said...

That cute little boy only has a 23% chance that his mom is married to his dad.

Bilwick said...

I would guess it's "empathy" in the "liberal" sense of the term--what Will Rogers was satirizing when he said, "I remember when 'liberal' meant being generous with your own money."

bagoh20 said...

"I noticed that Harris is now saying reform the police instead of defund the police. Someone with political smarts in their campaign made sure to make that distinction."

You never really know what their position is. It's like asking a prostitute "how much?", and she says:"how much do you got"?

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

Never be fair to MSNBC. They are never fair to Republicans. They are just a propaganda arm of the DNC.

That add invokes the "Civility" b.s. meme. Camela Harris invoking justice after she suppressed the Catholic pedofile priest cases, kept prisoners locked up after their sentences were over, and withholding evidence from defense teams is just a joke.

They don't address the elephant in the room: 70% out of wedlock births and lack of fathers in the home. They don't address the elevated murder rate of Black Americans relative to White Americans because of the resultant anger of Black teenagers whose fathers don't care about them.

Cooperate with police and you will be safe. End of story.

wildswan said...

The Republicans could have an ad exactly like that which was criticizing the murder rate in Chicago or the destruction in Baltimore with kids at breakfast, woman or man walking down the Baltimore streets like Kim Klacik, trapped and threatened in a flash looting spree downtown, back home reading to kids, in the background "mostly peaceful protest" newscast droning on, Vote for Trump ad appears, person reading to kids comes into foreground, nods slightly, keeps reading. Or an ad starting exactly like the above ad but the idea is criticizing the white women rioters, for singling out black cops and insulting them. Showing the cop at home with his kids, suiting up, on the job in Portland, rocks, laser blinding, whites telling him "you ain't black", home reading to his kids, recedes into the background, Kamala Harris calling for riots to continue, Trump denouncing them, person comes into foreground, slight pause in reading, looking thoughtful, keeps reading.
The "You Missed A Few Things in Your Time in the Basement, Joe" ad series

MikeD said...

Dollars to donuts the father in the ad would be a Conservative/Republican in the real world.

Rabel said...

"And another thing: Independents, particularly young ones, don't watch TV. There are no ads, political or otherwise, on subscription services like Netflix, Prime, Hulu, HBO Go, Starz, etc."

In many, many cases, the shows themselves are political ads.

Tom T. said...

The noteworthy point here is that the Democrats think it's *necessary* to advertise to Black voters. In other words, they're genuinely concerned that Black voters are in play.

Jupiter said...

"I know I like seeing images of a fatherly young black man reading a child a book that says "love" on the cover, and maybe the ad is really directed at centrist white women like me."

I'm not really following you here. I assume that you think that certain foodstuffs, say, banana splits, are delicious. They are enjoyable to consume. You might even wish you had one right now. Does that mean that showing you a picture of a banana split somehow makes you less resistant to having your purse stolen? Is that really how you are wired?

Jupiter said...

All this talk about "reforming the police" is BS. A substantial minority of Blacks have a problem with police because the police are charged with enforcing the law, and a substantial minority of Blacks have a problem with obeying the law.

Mary Beth said...

Was Harris' voice digitally altered slightly in that ad? I didn't notice as much of a nasal whine as I do usually when she speaks.

Crazy World said...

Vomit inducing ad IMO

Tomodog said...

Kurt Schlichter put government officer's perspective on the issue of, "a President standing around doing nothing", at Townhall.com. No pay wall.



I think DOJ is proceeding at all deliberate speed, too.

Birkel said...

Tom T,
You are correct. Democratics know they cannot win a national election if they do not have 92% of black voters' votes. The math cannot be made to work.

And Trump is going to win 12-20% of black voters' votes. Plus another 10% will stay home this year.

Biden got here because of a South Carolina representative. But Biden is terrible with a necessary demographic. And all the other Democratics were worse with the black voters. Warren? Sanders? Beto? Mayor Pete? GTFOOH!

If the change is permanent, as in 10-20% of blacks folks are persuadable, then Democratics are generationally fucked. And if it's 20% then it will be 50/50 before you know it.

Joe Smith said...

Trump has done a lot to try to pick up more black votes. But I think that should have been a huge priority from day one.

He should have spent more time in the inner-cities and he should have made black outreach a priority of the DNC on a national and local scale.

Birkel said...

He did, Joe Smith.

What you mean to say is traditional news sources made no mention of his outreach.

DeepRunner said...

Ann Althouse heard the propaganda on MSNBC...
"MSNBC commentator oozes enthusiasm: 'That ad just oozed the message of his campaign... empathy...'"

What utter dreck. I'm not surprised the media gives such rapt approval, but...let's be clear, that ad seems more directed toward woke SUV moms and single women than Blacks.

Yep, in the Snowflake Suburbs and Soft-Headed Cities, empathy...feeling...EMOTION...things of the HEART...matter. What's Droopy Joe gonna do against the Lord of the Mean Streets of Moscow? Or better yet, will empathy help when the anarchists come?

DeepRunner said...

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...
"I was watching HULU last night. I would guess that 80% of the ads were Biden commercials. Is Trump even running ads on television? I never see them
."

A coupla thoughts. First, of course streaming media like Hulu and YouTube would be a smart media buy for Droopy Joe. Just a guess, but I would say their audience targets skew younger and probably a bit more urban/suburban. Second, let him spend his money now. Labor Day is just a few days away, and then it's roughly an eight-week sprint to Election Day. Trump ain't even opened his wallet yet. Let's see what happens when he does.