*SIGH*
Blackberry user or not, and no matter how you spin it, the Obama campaign’s “Still” ad is craptastically petty and head-slappingly stupid:
[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.688253&w=425&h=350&fv=usef%3D0%26vq%3Dnull%26video_id%3DbQ2I0t_Twk0%26l%3D31%26sk%3DCUIcFZc4pcRIE9rVs1Ni4YPFZhGvVVXeC%26fmt_map%3D%26t%3DOEgsToPDskJfAmnC423IKV4syXeIblBG%26hl%3Den%26plid%3DAARWxxijcPYg16yIAAACgAQoKAA%26playnext%3D0%26enablejsapi%3D1]
(If it doesn’t load, try refreshing – or read a news account here.)
Three things.
First of all, as I have said before, the idea that John McCain’s competency with computers should be an issue in this election is so absurd as to be pretty much beyond ridicule: it is one thing to say that there are technology-related issues that he is insufficiently informed about, and quite another to turn an old man’s reticence to turn to newfangled toys into a supposed electoral liability. If Obama and his supporters really think there’s a serious need to make an issue of the latter, I just don’t know what to say to them.
Secondly, and no matter what Hilzoy says about voice recognition software and the like, there’s … umm … this (from 2000):
The injuries he incurred as a Vietnam POW make it painful for McCain to type. Instead, he dictates responses that his wife types on a laptop. “She’s a whiz on the keyboard, and I’m so laborious,” McCain admits.
I’m not going to add any comment here beyond this:
[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.688255&w=425&h=350&fv=usef%3D0%26vq%3Dnull%26video_id%3D5PnwIw8DM24%26l%3D8%26sk%3DCUIcFZc4pcRIE9rVs1Ni4YPFZhGvVVXeC%26fmt_map%3D%26t%3DOEgsToPDskLPyjxdTq0tOw8BVvtcuiAU%26hl%3Den%26plid%3DAARWxx--OLJpCFAcAAAAoAAQAAA%26playnext%3D0%26enablejsapi%3D1]
Thirdly and finally, does anybody think that this kind of thing is going to work? I mean, really? Aside from the tiny segment of the electorate that already (1) despises John McCain and (2) thinks that making fun of people for being behind the times is just TEH AWESOME, is there anybody who’s going to see or hear about this ad, block out all of the – pretty much entirely appropriate in this case, I should note – shrill and incessant whining that is going to be coming from the McCain camp, and think that, yes, this really does suggest a bunch of compelling reasons to vote for Obama? Anyone? Anyone?
Yeah, that’s what I figured.
When I said that the Obama campaign needed to go on the attack, this is not at all what I had in mind.
[UPDATE: James Joyner's take is a good one.]
Filed under: politics, science/tech
Can Barry O. or Joey B. fly a fighter jet? John McCain can, or could until he was damn near tortured to death by a brutal enemy in the service of his Nation. It takes a lot more technical savvy to fly jet airplane than it does to use a computer mouse doesn’t it? The consequence of failure is a lot more drastic in the cockpit of a fighter jet than at the keyboard of an I-Mac. Who ever died from an OS crash in the middle of an e-mail, huh? Maybe Barry’s Presidential bid will be the first?
Dude, it’s all about TEH PROGRESS. Isn’t that what the 1337s believe in?
Wow. Your right. That. Is. Stupid. Very. Very. Stupid.
But be careful what you wish for. It didn’t work because it was stupid. It didn’t work because it wasn’t the right kind of stupid and because it wasn’t stupid enough.
The Sex Ed ad produced by McCain was vicious, petty, and mendacious. But as such things go, it was effective. It pressed the right buttons.
Basically, what I am saying is if Obama to attacks McCain effectively, then prepare for much, much worse.
For example, imagine this being turned into an attack ad.
Wow. I should really spell check. Let me try that again.
But be careful what you wish for. It didn’t work because it wasn’t the right kind of stupid and because it wasn’t stupid enough (as much as I wish stupid ads were an automatic disqualifier).
The Sex Ed ad produced by McCain was vicious, petty, and mendacious. But as such things go, it was effective. It pressed the right buttons.
Basically, what I am saying is if Obama starts attacking McCain effectively, then prepare for much, much worse.
Amazing. Obama manages to insult older voters (a huge number of which a) don’t use email b) have shown some reluctance to vote for Obama and c) live in disproportionally large numbers in OH, PA, and MI) and walk into the trap of being seen to insult a veteran (who live in disproportionately large numbers in CO and NM). Did Karl Rove use his Jedi powers on the Obama camp to get them to do this?
Joseph -
Re: the rape kit issue, are there any grounds for thinking that Palin was responsible? I’m not saying that she wasn’t – just that what I’ve seen so far says only that law was in effect (and not even that it went into effect) when Palin was Mayor, and never explains what she could have done to change it. Again, my point here isn’t to defend her – I’m just looking for some more insight.
Exactly right, Adam. One way to think about the problem is that the Obama campaign is running with stuff that THEY find funny or convincing, whereas the McCain campaign is actually thinking about what the VOTERS want. (This is exactly the sort of thing I had in mind when I talked about “Daily Show Syndrome”.) And yes, I think that blaming this on Karl Rove is just the thing to do – he deserves credit for everything else wrong in the world, it seems …
John,
In answer to your question, I have no idea. Your concerns are legitimate and I share them. It could very well be the case that Palin had no culpability in the matter (though I would complete indifference and inaction on her part pretty damning).
But when you create an attack ad, the truth is an impediment to success (See McCain, John). John McCain says that Obama wants to teach kindergartens about sex, STDs, and condoms. A hard hitting response from Obama would be something like this:
Is it unfair? Probably. A lie or at the very least a distortion? Without a doubt. Is it effective? You betcha.
And of course because of the effectiveness of these smears, expect a vicious race to the bottom. This is assuming Obama decides he wants to win badly enough and dive into the mud.
Yes, that could be an effective ad, though if the facts blew up in their face the shitstorm would be massive, given the sensitivity of the issue and the power of the Right-wing noise machine. I also think that going after Palin isn’t a strategy that’s going to work very well; the focus should be on McCain whenever possible.
But what’s good about your ad is that, cheap or not, it’s actually issue driven – for one thing it ultimately is focused on McCain; for another, the shot it takes at Palin over the rape kits is tightly related to the bigger point about health care costs. Part of what’s so disastrous about the “Still” ad is that the actually substantive points it raises – about McCain’s lack of knowledge of economics and his proposal for a cut in the corporate tax rate – have nothing to do with the stuff about the Internet, and fit tenuously if at all into the ad’s broader theme.
Memo to Obama’s campaign staff:
Things young people do; use e-mail, instant messenger and text messaging, wear “Rock the Vote” t-shirts.
Things old people do; find new technology difficult, vote.
Quote of the day, Peter …