Perfect!

I'll give it a 65 and you can dance to it.

Brilliant! Except the Earworm Effect - but that will probably be a good thing in the end.

Cute. Huggable.

sheer genius - that's one of the best ads they've come up with.

I hope Obama's team is smarter than McCain's team and got permission to use the song;>(though it may be fair use at under 30 secs)

Excellent. More like this please. And run them often.

Awesome. This is a winner.

Fine Ad! I enjoy it more for the thought about what McSlime must feel. Getting under his skin - perhaps enough to trigger his famous patented anger - is really good.

Ah, I wish I could watch videos now! I *adore* Sam Cooke.

Even sounds like the old James Taylor version. But wait, that may even BE James Taylor! Woot woot!

Jesus!! Have you seen THIS

Yep---we're on good ground for this fight. VERY good ground. And since McDubya couldn't be bothered to show up for his job in the UNITED STATES SENATE for about the past year-and-two-thirds to begin with, maybe enough of these ads will not only embarrass home on November 4, but also embarrass him into permanent retirement....

This one didn't bowl me over. I'd prefer audio from McCain himself and picture after picture of Bush with McCain. Perhpas that will come later.

That being said, it mixes things up, and it may catch on with a ceretain audience.

More like this, please.

With the light-hearted tone of the ad, it makes it easy for the Obama folks to throw McCain's 'have a sense of humor' back in his face.

Somehow I doubt McCain will have much of a 'sense of humor' about any ad Obama puts out, which, ultimately, will paint McCain as a crotchety old man, out of touch & yelling for the kids to get off his lawn.

They could have run the Habañera from Carmen underneath the pic of Bush & Huggy Bear, and it would have been enough.

Awesome ! ! !

It's really a love song, you know, so that last picture of McCain and Bush is, well, picture perfect.

It's an ad that is transgenerational. Even though McCain, stuck as he was in a dark cell in Vietnam for decades and decades, might have missed it, all aging voters know it and it's clever and fun enough to inspire the youngsters.

I agree with "More like this."

It's not an attack add if it is true.

I look at this piece as education for Americans who have not figured it out yet.

All this ad does is clarify the obvious, something the MSM can't be bothered with.

Loved it!

The Hug, followed by the arm on the shoulder - excellent. Should be repeated over and over until people start to get sick of it, then given a brief break, then trotted out again and again in October.

Cute ad. Maybe too cute. Some people out there may grove on the smoothness of the tune and think, "Oh, that was John McCain. He must be a nice man!"

I dunno, sometimes a little more edge can help. Especially with that sizable segment of the voting population that still can't seem to pull their own shorts up with both hands, critical thinking-wise.

i liked the ad a lot. i hope i see it on the teevee.

i've been trying to catch obama ads on tv (don't watch much) and i've noticed that most of the ones i have seen on tv are "fifth avenue" slick, my brain hears the music voiceover and shuts off because it thinks "this is a car commercial," not registering that it's an obama campaign ad until suddenly i hear the words "i'm barack obama and i endorse..." and realize i've missed another one.

the ad posted above would definitely get my attention on said tv. more of this please. it's a waste of money running wallpaper.

p.s. congratulations on the new digs!

Awwwwwwww. How...nuanced.

Waste of money. I'd rather see a 60-second spot with Jim Webb, John Murtha, and Wes Clark raging about being sick of Republicans hiding behind the flag and attacking "your" patriotism.

It's great, IF Obama accompanies it with an easily accessible case for his *own* economic philosophy. I thought Leonhardt was right on in his NYTMag piece yesterday. Obama needs to make a case for the virtues of his own approach to the nation's economic problems, not simply coast on McCain's lack of one. Policy laundry lists won't cut it

The mocking tone has the likely added benefit of pissing McCain off. Can't wait til we see the legendary McCain temper boil over at a live microphone. "No, John! No!!!"

The ad is clever and light hearted, with a jab at McCain. Not hard-hitting enough, but I assume it's only for the short term.

There was an interesting panel discussion just now on CSPAN, hosted by Politico, of five prominent African Americans: Tavis Smiley, Gov. Doug Wilder, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Rep. James Cliburn, and a Princeton prof (forgot name). (No women, ack!) The moderator, John Harris of Politico, directed a question to Wilder along the lines of 'Obama is running as a celebrity and on his race'. What the heck? I thought. Damn media types. Thankfully Wilder struck that down right away. CSPAN may re-air this panel; it's definitely worth listening to (I missed the first 20 minutes so I hope they re-air). The men all had interesting things to say, though Smiley kind of drives me nuts and the professor was too professorial for most folks IMO (but not for thinking people like us). After one of his responses Jackson felt the need, as a member of Congress, to fire a shot across his bow, in a nice way, to perhaps think about who would hear his (the prof's) answers and what their reaction would be.

The music reference gives a chance for some live blogging of the tv coverage. Just turned the tv on, and checked MSNBC and C-SPAN. C-SPAN showed a McCain rally -- not complaining, it is fair to show that as well -- but at a High School in Arizona, where a Puerto Rican rap singer named Daddy Yankee was supporting him. McCain even admitted he didn't know about the music that won the guy a Latin Grammy -- nor do I. Anyone? But then McCain started to walk off the stage and had to be reminded that the HS's "Award Winning Choir" was supposed to do the National Anthem.

Anybody want to bet he'll be as gaga as Hinderburg ended up before the end of the campaign?

Meanwhile, MSNBC was covering a protest against a Fox News Reporter at Denver which "included language that isn't even suitable for Cable." Not sure that this was a good idea in the long run, but it felt good to see.

I'll be switching back and forth between here and the tv (different rooms, gotta convince my wife we NEED that laptop) and passing on anything I see of note.

HEY, STEVE, why not open a live-blogging thread here? There may be some other places, but I prefer staying here among 'family.' (And a quick apology for some things I said about the commenters here back at TCBR. Already, feels like home.)

Steve, welcome. I'm a long time reader of your former blog and it's great to have you at the Political Animal.

I think this ad is exactly what we need. It can't all be about what Sen. Obama would do as President, it's necessary to tear into the other guy too.

This ad rips right into McCain and does it in a manner that the MSM will be hard pressed to catagorize as insulting to a famous former POW.

Excellent message! Mocking this bunch is a much better tactic than copying their hateful fearmongering.

I'm certain that the singer actually IS James Taylor, but the song is different than the James Taylor version that I remember - the words are different and the tempo is faster. I think that Art Garfunkel covered this song too.

Might James Taylor have recorded this tune just for the Obama campaign?

It is Sam Cooke's original song, but let's give Team Obama credit for more sense than Camp McCain has. I'm betting that there are no copyright issues that will bite them.

I'm not wild about it. I think there's a reason that attack ads come in two flavors (ominous with minor-key music and humiliating with circus music): those work. They do't just deliver a message -- they associate the opponent with music cues that undermine the opponent's respectability.

I think it was great. Memorable tune, light-hearted, but with a very poignant message. Spot on!

Very nice. "What a Wonderful World" is on McCain's list of favorite songs. I don't think he'd like this version of it.

Love it!. "Don't know much about economy" had already been "McCain's song"; now the text got customized to fit him *perfectly*.

Parody -- which this is -- is protected under Fair Use.

Obama needs to make a case for the virtues of his own approach to the nation's economic problems, not simply coast on McCain's lack of one. Policy laundry lists won't cut it

Of course they will. Why do you think Republicans keep getting elected in this country? You don't have to spell out what you're for; all you have to do is point out what your opponent is against. The American sheeple don't give a damn about the details of policy anymore anyway. They care about which candidate they'd rather have a beer with. They're obsessed with "likeability," because the media tells them to be.

The current media narrative is that McCain is a war hero and a regular guy, while Obama is an out-of-touch, arrogant elitist. The corporate media has a vested interest in keeping the White House in Republican hands, and the old tried-and-true narrative always works. Unless we change the media, Democrats will continue to be locked out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

I absolutely LOVE this ad. Sam Cooke isn't around to sing the catchy tune, but the voice sounds very much like James Taylor, who also did the song well.

I'm 59 and the use of this song in the ad will play wonderfully well with women of my generation. It brings back memories of a better time and of the hope we felt back then.

I've referred to this political season as judo sparring before. But this? This sounds like a body blow. Ouch.

NealB is this really on McCain's Ipod or favorite list? Hahaha that's too perfect. If the Ogama team knew that they are seriously trying to get into his OODA loop. Heck even if they didn't know it, they may just get to him anyway. Jijutsu, three- dimmensional chess, etc.

I thought this was fun . John, ya gotta keep your sense of humor about these things.

Definitely James Taylor. Interesting that the campaign chose an obscure (and very "white") cover version of this classic.

Definitely James Taylor. Interesting that the campaign chose an obscure (and very "white") cover version of this classic.

So, when will the "Just a Gigolo" ad come out?

So so. The message is good but we can be packing a lot more data in these 30 second spots. More images of McCain with Bush. More out of touch quotes by McCain. Viewers can take in a lot more information than this add offers.

I'm not so sure about the tone either. I get the idea but it also feels like our side is taking foreclosures and bush economics too lightly. This election really is serious.

Overall, OK, but I think we should be hitting harder.

As someone who writes song parody lyrics, I think it's outstanding.

Not James Taylor--just sounds a lot like him.

I'd rather see a 60-second spot with Jim Webb, John Murtha, and Wes Clark raging about being sick of Republicans hiding behind the flag and attacking "your" patriotism.

The cool thing is we can do both. This one's very effective (laughed out loud at "one and one is two") and the more serious ones are, too. But don't underestimate the power of humor to devastate--and to be remembered by viewers.

Love it. And if you have to have an earworm, this is a good one.

Love this one.

How about one joking about his learning to get on the new fangle internets all by himself.

A viagra user to song would be funny too!

Sweet.

The message is good but we can be packing a lot more data in these 30 second spots. More images of McCain with Bush. More out of touch quotes by McCain. -- frb, @14:01

More? Meaning go faster? Have mercy on us, slow of understanding. I know the song from "back when" (I'll be 59 in October) but had to play the ad twice to "get" everything in there (the changes in the text, the text on the screen, how the images and text fit together...) Anything more, and I'd have been totally lost. Granted, English isn't my first language and granted, I process it better visually than aurally, but, still..

mccain=bush
mccain=confused
mccain=wealthy

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