Yesterday the Democratic camp launched a 30-minute spot for their candidate Barack Obama. The advertisement aired on seven national channels at the same time and featured fragments of Obama with Joe Biden, Obama and Bill Clinton, Obama voters etc.
It was the first time Clinton and Obama confronted a crowd together, and the timing of their appearance yesterday was nothing more than a tactic that the Obama campaign tends to repeat in the next few days. According to an article in the Washington Post a democratic aid said that a central goal of the Democratic camp is to maximize face time on local news broadcasts, and to cover as much ground as possible before the election on Tuesday.
It was the first time Clinton and Obama confronted a crowd together, and the timing of their appearance yesterday was nothing more than a tactic that the Obama campaign tends to repeat in the next few days. According to an article in the Washington Post a democratic aid said that a central goal of the Democratic camp is to maximize face time on local news broadcasts, and to cover as much ground as possible before the election on Tuesday.
Another aspect that is surprising about the advertisement, besides the appearance of him and Bill Clinton together is that for the first time Obama directly attacks Sarah Palin. In the advertisement Obama raises questions about her capabilities and experience, linking it to McCain's comments during an debate among GOP rivals in November when he said, "I might have to rely on a vice president that I select." The screen in the advertisement then shifts to two words, "His choice?", and a video of Palin speaking and winking.
Obama has for a long time not addressed any direct criticism toward Palin, even though there was a big demand for it from the Democratic camp that feared that Obama wasn’t taking a strong enough stance against the Republican attacks. One might argue that the reason why Obama chose to attack Palin at this point in time, is because of the recent opinion polls that show widespread doubts about Palin’s ability to handle the duties of a Vice President and the Oval Office.
As the article states, the decision to bombard the airwaves on Wednesday and Thursday was grounded in the belief that, by Friday, much of the media coverage will be focused on the horse race. The stories that will be produced from than on will most probably be heavily influenced by the candidates' last-minute travels and actions. David Axelrod, who is Obama’s strategist, said it would have been too late if they would have aired the advertisement on Monday, because by then, the vast majority of voters will have already chosen their candidate.
This sudden move by Obama leaves me wondering how the McCain camp is going to react to this strategy and if they are going to come up with the same type of advertising. I am even more curious to see what surprises both candidates still have up their sleeves for the last few days that remain until Nov. 4. I think we might still be in for a ride, and warning: it could get dirty.
