Obama launches $25M swing-state ad blitz
President Obama's reelection campaign has begun a $25 million TV ad campaign in nine swing states, including Pennsylvania. Core argument: Hey, we're doing better. Remember how bad it was before Obama took office?
Obama launches $25M swing-state ad blitz
Thomas Fitzgerald, Inquirer Politics Writer
The Obama campaign Monday announced a $25 million television ad buy in nine battleground states, including Pennsylvania, to air a spot aimed at reminding voters what the president has accomplished despite taking office in deep economic crisis.
“We’re not letting our foot off the pedal,” campaign manager Jim Messina said in a conference call with reporters Monday morning. “We have a very simple choice between going forward and going back.”
Messina and senior adviser David Axelrod said that the spot, called “Go,” is part of broader effort to set administration achievements in the context of Obama’s having inherited the worst recession since the Great Depression and two wars. The ad emphasizes the auto-industry bailout, successfully ending the Iraq war and winding down the war in Afghanistan, and modest growth in jobs, while acknowledging that the economy is “still too hard for too many.”
Axelrod said that the ad contrasts with Republican Mitt Romney’s efforts to blame continuing economic problems on the administration without offering a believable alternative plan for turning things around. Instead, Romney has smothered opponents with negative ads.
“We’re in a different place,” Axelrod said. “We’re fighting through. There are still significant headwinds.” Messina said that Romney acts as if “world history began” when Obama was inaugurated in January 2009.
On the contrary, President Obama does not want to accept responsibility for the failures of his policies, said Amanda Henneberg, spokeswoman for the Romney campaign.
“After a doubling of gas prices, declining incomes, millions of foreclosures, and record levels of unemployment, Americans know they’re not better off than they were four years ago,” Henneberg said. “Mitt Romney’s pro-growth agenda will get America back on track and stop the middle-class squeeze of the Obama economy.”
The Obama spot is also airing in Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire, Iowa, North Carolina, Florida and Colorado.
Axelrod told reporters that the Obama re-elect is prepared to counter attacks from Romney and added that the campaign would treat ads from independent super PACS supporting the Republican as if they came from the candidate himself. Axelrod mocked the Koch brothers, conservative billionaires who have financed several anti-Obama groups as “contract killers over there in super PAC land who are going to continue to pound away on behalf of Gov. Romney.”
The Obama campaign has also run some negative ads against Romney, including one recently in Ohio, Virginia and Iowa that mentioned his “Swiss bank account” and intimated he got rich by buying and chopping up countries, shipping jobs overseas.
Here is the new Obama “Go” ad:
@ criminal, no one told you to blow the stimulus and tax cut cash that Obama put into your pocket!
@ stone, you got Obama mixed up with Paul Ryan and Bush. If it wasn't for Obama, you would have been pushed over the cliff by Bush. If Paul Ryan gets his way, you and your whole clan will be pushed over the cliff.
As for anyone commenting with the dumb Republican line "are you better off then you were four year ago," you better blame Bush and the Republicans instead of Obama if you believe that you aren't. Your retirement account has recovered almost everything lost under Bush; investors in the stock market have recovered everything lost under Bush and made out like bandits—just ask Romney; Big corporations like GE paid no taxes and the CEOs were still raking in big salaries and bonuses; you don't have to worry about being denied health insurance for a pre-existing condition and your college kid can stay on your lower cost familiy plan longer until they can get their own; your college kid's interest rates on student loans are still at a low rate; we are no longer paying billions in taxes or on credit for the Iraq war; and your real estate taxes didn't go up as much as they would have had the stimulus not been in place.— dross- I can't wait for these ads. I could use a good laugh.— AvoidSundanceVacations
- Desperate men do desperate things. One and done...and not too soon.— dogman5
- @ tanks, it is sad that Obama has to spend that kind of money to remind fools like you of his accomplishments. You see people like you are gullible. The Republicans know that they can buy suckers like you a dime a dozen.
As for Obama's accomplishments:
-Ended the 8 plus years war in Iraq, saving the need to borrow, spend or sacrifice American lives
-Pushed and signed a jobs bill for vets
-Pushed and signed a bill to help small business
-Provided the loans and capital to save the American auto industry and numerous jobs
-Got Osama Bin Laden
-Helped get rid of Qaddafi
-Provided stimulus cash for every working American
-Extended unemployment compensation
-Ensured that the country was not a deadbeat bill payer
-Pushed and signed a bill to ensure women could get equal pay for equal work
-Got rid of a policy use to discriminate in the federal workplace on the taxpayers dime
-Pushed for and enabled student loan rates to remain low
-Provided relief to homeowners facing foreclosure
and the list goes on!
— dross - Anything about him collecting the half a million dollars from Corzine, you know the move forward Democrat Governor/Senator from NJ that stole 1.6 billion dollars from his clients, to cover Corzines reckless bets. So much for Obama denouncing millionaires and billionaires. Wink Wink, it is all good when you are from Chicago…— CrashTestCorzine
- @ crash, the limit to contribute to the Obama campaign is about $2,000. So maybe you ought to check somewhere else, instead of talking like you are ready for the state hospital for the insane.— dross
- Hey Dross just so you know Corzine is a top Bundler for Obama someone that raises over $500,000, so let me put this into terms that somebody with a third grade education level can under stand; this is somebody that raises a lot of money for a candiate. And to your point, that after the fact, your anti Wallstreet President convientently returned $70,000 to Corzine and his wife, a far cry from the lofty $2,000 limit that runs through you’re your miopic little brain: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/04/obama-bundlers-raise-at-least-106-million-for-campaign/
Lean forward you Dope!
— CrashTestCorzine - The only thing Obummer knows how to do is campaign, he does not know how to govern. But then again being a community agitator would not prepare you to be President of the United States. He does what he knows what to agitate, agitate, and agitate some more, play golf, give speeches, blame anyone and everyone for anything that goes wrong and campaign.— Speak-truth-2-power
- The only thing Obummer knows how to do is campaign, he does not know how to govern. But then again being a community agitator would not prepare you to be President of the United States. He does what he knows what to agitate, agitate, and agitate some more, play golf, give speeches, blame anyone and everyone for anything that goes wrong and campaign.— Speak-truth-2-power
Comment removed.- @ speak, yeah Obama did all that and still had enough talent to get this country out of the ditch, back on track, and get Obama and out of Iraq. Your favorite peeps Rove, Bush, Cheney, Bachmann, Boehner, Cantor, and Ryan didn't have the talent combined to do what he has done. Now that is what is called speaking truth 2 power!— dross
- Comment removed.
- xyz— FocusTruthFully
- "Hope and change, baby!" (I hope I can get re-elected after completely screwing up America (change).) "Blame Bush! He did bad stuff and it's all his fault, no matter that I had 4 years to fix it, and just made it worse. And Reagan, yeah, he stunk, too!" What a complete fraud.— verve
- "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."
The Good Book.
(ps - it sure aint Obama)— FocusTruthFully
You can reach Tom Fitzgerald at 215-854-2718 or tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
Reach Thomas at tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
