Underwhelming New Ads from Obama, McCain

TPM has three new TV ads out today, two from the Obama campaign and one from McCain. Honestly, I think they're all pretty bad.

The first Obama ad, called "Still", criticizes John McCain as, basically, an old fart who can't use the internet or email and favors tax cuts for corporations. The ad's graphics are kind of crappy, so I assume it's web only. At least I hope for the Obama campaign's sake that it's web only, because I think it would be unwise to put this ad on the air.

I think the "can't send an email" thing mostly bothers young upscale liberals, not swing voters. Dissing McCain for not using email might actually backfire with seniors. And very unwisely, the ad pronounces that "things have changed in the last 26 years, but McCain hasn't." Certainly that undercuts another Obama message, which is that McCain sold out his "Maverick" principles to get the Republican nomination. In fact, "things have changed in the last 26 years, but McCain hasn't" sounds like something the McCain campaign would say to frame McCain as a Reagan Republican, not a Bush Republican.

The second ad ("Real Change") features Barack Obama talking to the camera, saying he's the candidate who will really bring change. This messaging is OK, but I'm not sure it's likely to have much impact; after all, McCain is out there saying essentially the same thing. Since the candidates have similar favorable ratings and are both associated with "change" or "reform" in the voters' minds, I doubt that either one saying "change" over and over is likely to matter.

The last ad ("Disrespectful") criticizes the Obama campaign for its own criticisms of Sarah Palin. Generally, I think whining about attacks against Sarah Palin is a bad idea, because it undercuts her image as a very strong woman who is unfazed by criticism. Mercifully, the ad does not claim that Obama's "lipstick on a pig" remarks were an attack on Palin.