I don't know if it'll work -- it looks boring in the first few seconds -- but the payoff is just awesome.

I want the Obama people to do half a dozen ads just like this.

Love it! Love. It!!!!!!

The best part (IMHO) is that it gets the message to people like me who mute all commercials.

Go BarJoe!!

The ad isn't a "two-fer". Sarah Palin is a two-fer.

Her executive experience as a governor will be invaluable in economic issues, and Alaska's proximity to Russia give her foreign policy credentials to complement McCain's.

ZING!!!

Great ad! That wink is awesome!!

Three-point shiv

As they say in basketball: Barack buries a dagger...

Impressive, but audio of John actually saying those quotes, I think, would have made it stronger.

Still, an ad like that is priceless.

Well, I guess it'll bring in the "quick reader" demographic.

Seriously, the quotes go by too fast, and without a narrator you get absolutely nothing from it unless you are glued to the screen. I'd have used a narrator and fewer quotes.

Notice the heart beat? Bump Bump,Bump Bump goes the subtle drum beat.

"winking at the Rich Lowry" - that's gonna leave a mark.

"It's a pretty devastating spot, and for Democrats, I suspect it will be one of the more satisfying negative ads of the campaign cycle." - What's "negative" about it? Note that the only words used are John McCain's. It's only "negative" if you assume that Sarah Palin is unqualified.

Keep that in mind when the faux outrage starts up.

What is best in a campaign?

To crush the enemy.

To see them driven before you.

And to hear the lamentations of their women!

What exactly does a VEEPEE do anyway?

Idaho? Alaska. OHIO..... a New Jersey!

nyuk nyuk nyuk.

Al @ 10:03, I honestly can't tell whether that's serious or snark... congratulations!

pwnage! This ad may be negative but at the very least it is completely factual. [wink]

The ending is perfectly timed. A great, great ad that'll leave a mark in voter's minds about McCain/Palin when they enter the voting booth and remember what's *not* in their wallet.

Agree with JimBob. The ad lacks impact due to the use of the quotes only. At the least the words "vice president" should have been in red in the final quote to draw attention to them.

It's truly outrgeous! They took that wink totally out of context! This kind of advertising should be outlawed! There should be hell to pay for treating a former POW like some kind of buffoon!

SteveT @ 10:14:

LOL, an old Gonad the Ballbarian quote. Now I have to clean the coffee off my monitor.

but audio of John actually saying those quotes, I think, would have made it stronger.

The problem is they don't have audio. The first two quotes were from a newspaper. The last was from a debate, but note the use of quotes:

"I might have to rely on a vice president that I select" for expertise on economic issues.

The actual statement was not a direct reference on the economy, (the question was about VPs in general) and in fact I'm sure fact checkers will point out the quote isn't completely honest. He referred to expertise in technology, which he said is one of the key drivers of the economy.

Alas, for those reasons McCain audio was not possible.

And that's too bad, because that meant they couldn't use sound for Palin -- the obvious quote to use there would have been "I've been at this -- what? -- five weeks." Maybe they can work that into another ad, although we are getting near the end here in terms of effectiveness for new ads.

I suspect the REAL purpose here is to remind swing voters of Palin. This is probably a response to all the "Obama not ready" ads -- although Palin has been on the road a lot and seen a lot by news junkies, for swing voters she's largely faded from memory.

Great idea, terrible execution. The audio and/or video of McCain actually saying those words would have been exponentially effective. Forcing people to read renders this as essentially useless. At this point in the campaign we're trying to reach the most uninformed, incurious voters - asking that person to read is probably not a winning formula.

I want to point out for the "everyone does it people" that this does not distort or lie about McCain or take his quotes and decisions out of context. In fact in my experience, which I do not claim is comprehensive, the Obama ads are an accurate depiction of McCain and his positions whereas the McCain ads are distortions or lies.

Hmm, I wonder if Obama was refusing to hit her before because he was saving it for the end. Now that Colin Powell, David Brooks, David Frum - well, pretty much everybody who's anybody in conservative circles (not to say right-wing circles) - have all panned her, it's probably safe for Obama to start reminding people how scary she is. And it is that much more effective because he did not dirty his hands with her filth until six days out. Awesome, awesome, awesome planning. DAMN they are good.

this does not distort or lie about McCain or take his quotes and decisions out of context

I think you are right; I do remember him saying something about having to rely on his vp for economic issues, though I think it was during the primary.

I'm still going to disagree with many of you about the audio. :-) I think that this is more devastating without any voiceover.

Briefer would have been better and no need to quote the self-proclaimed strengths of McBush in foreign policy and military matters (which he doesn't actually have, by the way). A narrator could have read the quotes with fewer of them and Palin speaking at the end, in that horrible voice, would have been priceless. Sorry, I was in advertising...

The "might have to rely" quote isn't quite kosher. The ad attributes it to the Republican debate of 11/28/07, and here's a transcript of that exchange:

MR. COOPER: Senator McCain, has this president given too much authority to the vice president?

SEN. MCCAIN: Look, I'm going to give you some straight talk. This president came to office in a time of peace, and then we found ourselves in 2001. And he did not have as much national security experience as I do, so he had to rely more on the vice president of the United States and that's obvious. I wouldn't have to do that. I might have to rely on a vice president that I select on some other issues. He may have more expertise in telecommunications, on information technology, which is the future of this nation's economy. He may have more expertise in a lot of areas, but I would rely on a vice president of the United States, but, as Fred said, the primary responsibility is to select one who will immediately take your place if necessary.

McCain was saying only (a) unlike Bush, he comes prepared on national security and (b) there might be other issues where he knows less and might rely on his VP's experience. He gave telecommunications and information technology as examples, not "the economy". The mention of "the economy" was only to contextualize his reference to telecom & IT.

I suspect the fact checkers will see it the same way. It'll be too bad if this detracts from the overall message of the ad, which is 100% spot on.

And of course the last sentence of that debate response says it all. Too bad they couldn't have used that one in this ad.

Adding audio would only be a distraction. The underlying message is that when it comes to the economy, who you vote for this year matters. Having no vocal clutter says this is serious, and the ending emphasizes how unserious McCain is.

To those who are criticizing the lack of a McCain voiceover: did they even have audio for all of those quotes? The first one is from the Wall Street Journal, and the second is from the Boston Globe. Hearing McCain's words in some narrator's voice likely would have distracted from the fact that the words are McCain's. And while I agree that a choice quote in Palin's Fargo squawk would have been a nice touch, I can't think off the bat what quote they would have used, and that wink really says it all about her cutesie superficiality.

I think it's a good ad.

What's "negative" about it? -JC

It's negative because it's message is something negative about the opponent, not a positive message about the candidate.

That's all a negative ad is. I don't know why they get such a bad rap, other than, at least from the Republicans, they so often blatantly lie and then call for false equivalence.

I don't think there is any political ad more effective than a negative ad that properly uses an opponent's own words and actions. I very much like this ad.

I'm still going to disagree with many of you about the audio. :-) I think that this is more devastating without any voiceover. -Michigoose

I completely agree, and here's why: you can't listen to this ad. If you turn away and listen, you miss the payoff. The quotes are there not just for the lead in, but to focus your attention directly on the screen. It's perfect.

Anything to distract from the visual component of this ad would have diminished it's impact.

Yesss! Seems good. I hope they show it all over, please! Yeesh, those winks! BTW Steve, can you find a way to link to these ads?

Heh, I went in drag as Sarah Palin to a Halloween party last Saturday. No other political figures that night, but there was a "Joe" the workman. It was weird, I and the other revelers had a ball. Scary!

(I mean, something I can copy to paste elsewhere - I can't figure out how to get an actual URL out of the window, tx.)

My only criticism would be that the quotes go by too fast. I read Steve's transcript first so I knew what they said—the viewer won't have that advantage. Though, if it's like the other ads on here in NC, they'll get to see it five more times before the game or show is over...

I can't hear the drumbeat/heartbeat at all thru the mini-squeaker in my 'puter, so it's lost on me.
What the plinkety-plink soundtrack sounds like to me is more reminiscent of "Dueling Banjos" ("Deliverance") than anything else. But I have clue none about current popular music, TV/movie soundtracks, etc. Is there some other association I would be having if I were clued in like a normal 'Murcan?

This is Brilliant. Just brilliant. And the campaign was keeping their powder dry when we were screaming for them to go all in. Finally we progressives have a well run campaign by competent smart people. And the most wonderful part of it is that they stayed with their strategy. Obama said to trust him and while most of us did we were very nervous that he held a lot back. The Republicans, if they had any smarts, will banish William the Bloody up to Alaska with Ms. And-also-but.

I'm with Michigoose. People are tired of negative voiceovers and probably tired of hearing McCain's voice. The music is different enough to peak the watcher's interest and once they start reading it, they'll continue to completion. The punchline is perfect.

Very low key and unorthodox, but effective.

BANG!

Whoa.

I really thought the economics quote was going to be the cabinet.

It's only the refrigerator door.

What is Obama hitting him with this weekend?
His head is already ear-deep in the sidewalk.

A still image of Palin frozen in mid-wink would've emphasized the bizarre inanity of that gesture, along with an audible quote "I've been at this for what, like, five weeks?"

I think "low information" voters aren't going to read the quotes and may just be reminded of how much they like that spunky gal, Sarah Palin. And high information voters like some of the people commenting here are going to check the quotes and find out that the last is a bit disingenuous.

Still, nice ad!

Is an ad with only a visual meant to be shown in Missouri -- the show me state?

One problem Obama has now is that the many states which are polling as close are geographically far apart. Despite his Obamaness it still takes time to travel from one state to another.

I'm guessing that's why he plans the half-hour ad to reach everyone.