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Eye on Ohio: “Leader” ad for Obama
Obama ad talks about leading America in a new direction
THE AD: “Leader,” 2 minutes.
WHERE TO SEE IT: Aired during nightly news programs in Ohio and Texas on Monday, March 3.
SCRIPT: “I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message.
“For years, we’ve watched politicians divide us, seen lobbyists put their interests ahead of ours, and heard our leaders tell us what we want to hear, instead of what we need to hear.
“The question you have to ask yourself is this: Who can take can take us in a fundamentally new direction? I’m running to finally solve problems we talk about year after year after year.
“To end the division, the obscene influence of lobbyists and the politics that value scoring points over making progress. We can’t afford more of that — not this year, not now.
“I’ve spent my life working for change that’s made a real difference in the lives of real people. That’s why I passed up a job on Wall Street — to fight joblessness and poverty on the streets of Chicago when the local steel plant closed.
“That’s why I turned down the corporate law firms to work as a civil-rights lawyer — to fight for those who have been denied opportunity. That’s why I fought for a tough new ethics law in Illinois and Washington — to cut the power of lobbyists — and I won.
“That’s why I brought Democrats and Republicans together to provide health care and tax relief to working families. And that’s why I opposed this war in Iraq from the start. It wasn’t popular, but it was right.
“This country is ready for a leader who will bring us together. That’s the only way we’re going to win this election. And that’s actually how we’ll fix health care and make college affordable, become energy independent and end this war.
“I’m reminded every day that I’m not a perfect man. And I won’t be a perfect president. But I can promise you this: I will always tell you where I stand and what I think. I will listen to you when we disagree. I will carry your voices to the White House and I will fight for you every day I’m there.
“On Tuesday, help change Washington; let’s bring Democrats, Republicans and Independents together, not just to win an election, but to transform a nation.”
VIDEO: The campaign put Obama in a dark gray suit, white shirt and red-patterned necktie. He speaks directly into a camera. He sits in an office-like environment with a soft glow of a brass table lamp over his shoulder. Although the camera rarely is off him, the viewer gets glimpses of graphics, including newspaper endorsements in Cleveland, Dayton, Canton and Toledo.
ANALYSIS: It’s extraordinarily rare for a campaign to buy two consecutive minutes of TV time. But it’s not rare for candidates to aim messages at people who watch the evening news; they vote. Polls in Ohio and Texas show Obama and Hillary Clinton within a few percentage points of each other.
The Obama camp calls this ad “Leader.” It should be called “Closer.”
Obama has to close the deal. He has to get those last few votes to swing his way. He twice mentions the word Republican — a naughty thing for a Democrat. And also reminds Independents that they can vote for him.
David Sartin is a reporter for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. E-mail: dsartin@plaind.com.
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By John Patrick Smith
March 4, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this
2007 - Barack promoted a restoration of balance between work and wealth in U.S. tax codes. Hillary and husband liquidated their blind trust of nearly $50 million amassed during their years in public office. 2002 - Barack cautioned that without clear rationale an invasion of Iraq would encourage the worst impulses of the Arab world and strengthen Al Qaeda’s recruitment. Hillary told Larry King she didn’t regret her vote on the Iraq war resolution because like the Bush administration, the Clinton administration viewed Saddam Hussein as a threat to the international community. 1999 - Barack secured bipartisan support for health-care reform and low-income tax credits in Illinois. Hillary supported her husband’s Iraq “regime change” policy to divert public attention from his ethical infidelities. When did Hillary Clinton deliver health-care reform or demonstrate her economic wisdom and foresight while Alan Greenspan was warning of irrational exuberance as the subprime housing loans were pandered during her husband’s administration and her husband supported China’s entry into the WTO without any conditions such as protecting the environment or labor and property rights to levels that are comparable to western standards?