We're here to serve. If you managed to miss Barack Obama's infomercial last night - and I'm guessing Philadelphia was not one of the more attentive media markets - the reviews praised the production quality, noted the message was about feeling, not facts, and marveled at the last few minutes, when the show went live to a rally in Florida.
Tom Shales at the Washington Post called it "ObamaVision." The video opens with shots, we kid you not, of waving fields of grain and rolling plains. Music? Think Aaron Copeland. Here's Shales:
"Somehow both poetic and practical, spiritual and sensible, the paid political broadcast, which aired on seven major cable and broadcast networks (on Univision, it was identified as "Historias Americanas"), was a montage of montages, a series of seamlessly blended segments interweaving the stories of embattled Americans with visions of their deliverer, Guess Who....
...The film conveyed feelings, not facts -- specifically, a simulation of how it would feel to live in an America with Barack Obama in the White House. The tone and texture recalled the "morning in America" campaign film made on behalf of Ronald Reagan, a work designed to give the audience a sense of security and satisfaction; things are going to be all right."
John Baer at the DN said the ubiquitous nature of the television buy was...creepy:
"It was `HEY, AMERICA, YOU CAN'T NOT LOOK AT ME! I COMMAND IT!'
And this barrage includes Obama interviews granted to NBC anchor Brian Williams, ABC anchor Charlie Gibson, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and Comedy Central's Jon Stewart of `The Daily Show.'
Isn't there some overkill here? "
And this from the NYT, displaying the sort of scepticism that McCain campaign says its coverage too often lacks:
"Because Mr. Obama is already running the most intensive and wide-ranging presidential advertising campaign in history, with electronic billboards for his candidacy showing up even in home video games, it raised the obvious question, “How much is too much?” With a heavy-handed style of filmmaking devised to pull at heart strings as Mr. Obama ticked through the commercial’s hard-luck stories, it risked seeming manipulative.
(Senator John McCain’s campaign wasted no time in issuing a statement that read: “As anyone who has bought anything from an infomercial knows, the sales-job is always better than the product. Buyer beware.”) "
All that said, if you're an Obama fan, you'll like it. If not, not so much. But at this point the video is aimed at reassuring Democratic leaners.
Here it is:
Click here for Philly.com's politics page.
I think my kids would call these people, "haytaz" or something. The broadcast was darn near perfect and they know it. Envy is a beautiful thing.— DamiansMrs- I will be voting for Obama next week but sorry this was overkill. I don't think he needed to do this and it did come off as slightly manipulative. It played on peoples fears a bit, something the other camp is known for. IMHO— LivinLovinLife
Comment removed.- I wonder how many over the counter Visa cards took to pay for that mess?— fat ed rendell
- LA Times REFUSES to Release the tape that shows Obama in the company of Another Militant Radical a former PLO mouthpiece - KHALIDI, AYER was also PRESENT. On this tape and at this dinner OBAMA once again subjected himself to listening to anti-Israeli and anti-semitic rhetoric, the way he did in Rev. RIGHT church for 20+ years. Once again ANTI-AMERICAN and ANTI-SEMITIC RHETORIC was NOT OBJECTIONABLE TO HIM. This tape REMINDs US of OBAMA’s LUCK of JUDGMENT, INTEGRITY, CHARACTER or something much MORE SINISTER than that. While we know that most of the media has been in bed with Obama, they have refused to dig deeper into his background. DEAR LA TIMES, LET THE TAPE GO. WE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. HISTORY TOUGHT US THAT BOTH HITLER AND COMMUNISTS CAME TO POWER ON THE PLATFORM OF CHANGE, DURING THE TIMES OF ECONOMIC UPHEAVAL. IF YOU LET HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF, AMERICA WILL BE LOST FOREVER.— LostDemocracy
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- THE ISSUE OF MCCAIN’S ANGER, TEMPERAMENT AND JUDGMENT The image of John McCain that sticks in the last days of this long campaign is that he is a mean-spirited, dishonest, dishonorable, angry, erratic old man who lacks vision, good judgment and other requisite leadership qualities that can make a good President. Obama made a closing 30-minutes infomercial that made no mention of John McCain at all. On the other hand, McCain cannot say one sentence in the stump without looking angry, shouting a volley of negatives against his opponent, and saying the word "fight" sometimes many times in that sentence. It tells you volumes about the man and why he scares so many voters, especially young people. This man will take us to World War III should he win--which I doubt very much. McCain has many unsolved psychological issues. He has to win his private war (the enemy within) before he can win the public one which he says he knows how to win--bluster. What we see here is man against himself, and against this, there is no greater enemy. The enemy within trumps the man we see on the outside! Funny enough, no mainstream media has really cared to look more closely into McCain's inner world--an issue so relevant to the question of the quality of leadership McCain can provide the nation. It impacts on his judgment as a leader. I dare any one in the media to have the courage to explore deeply McCain's anger! There is plenty of scared evidence on the You-Tube and there are direct footages from McCain's actual encounter with situations and people, including colleagues in politics that will make you think again about his candidacy. This man is unfit to lead! He needs help—but he does not know it.— Dr. Sam8
- For all those who think it was "over kill" just read the comment from LostDemocracy above. I certainly hope people dont make stuff up about them and they have to, unrightfully so, defend themselves and god forbid LostDemocracy is a minority, then you'll lose even more credibility due to the hatred that runs wild out there because of the color of your skin.— Sheed
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- I just want to know two things from all you Obama supporters: (1)Why can nothing critical be said about him? (2) You know for darn sure that if everything said about him was said about McCain/Palin you would tear him apart, so why the double standard?— whiplash240
The Inauguration: Jan. 20 blog brings you coverage of President-elect Barack Obama's transition into office.
It's written by political journalists from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Send us your comments -- and news tips -- at this address.
Thomas Fitzgerald joined The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2000, and has covered Harrisburg as well as city, state and national politics for the newspaper. He was a “boy on the bus” in the 2004 presidential campaign and during primary contests in 2000 and 1996.
Nathan Gorenstein has covered politics and government in the city, state and nation for the Inquirer. He's worked in the city hall bureau, had a stint on the business desk, and once covered the suburbs. After serving as assistant regional editor, he was named editor of the "Politics" web site.
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