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Tuesday, April 22, 2008 12:00 AM

Step 2 in defining McCain: He's really rich

Progressive Media USA unveils its second spot, emphasizing how McCain came to be very wealthy.

The letters thread is now closed.

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Tuesday, April 22, 2008 12:54 PM

One Word

McCURLY.

------------------------------------------

Who cares how much money he has and how he got it?

He is a war stooge.

One of three.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 12:58 PM

Defining McCain

Grandpa Simpson with Mr. Burns' checkbook

This is both accurate and funny, and will resonate with most Americans.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 12:59 PM

I get it but...

I'm not sure it will work. OK so McCain is rich. I hate him but not because he's rich. I guess since I'm a latte-sipper I don;t begrudge him wealth, but I guess this MIGHT reach those so-called blue collars that he says he needs. I'm not sure how effective it will be though. I can't see it through anyone's eyes but my own. This one is tough. If i was a millworker would this piss me off enough not to vote for him? not sure. They might have spent more time one the dumbass statement McCain made about working a second job and MANY MANY others he's made that clearly show a disconnect when it comes to regular people's lives.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 01:06 PM

He's cold and there are wolves after him.

They should have mentioned that he was cheating on his disabled wife with this heiress, then divorced the woman that stayed faithful to him while he was a POW and married the heiress.

Or is that just emphasizing Republican core values?

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 01:08 PM

The problem is not that he's rich.

The problem is that he is an out of touch old fool who is proudly ignorant of economics.

I wish they had spent more time using McCain's own words against him. The one bit they did use -- about working two jobs etc -- is edited so tightly that it makes it seem like it is the middle of a sentence being taking out of context.

McCain should be exposed with his own words, not computer graphics.

This is a weak effort. Would Dems have bought this if it was about John Edwards? No. Because the point isn't his wealth, it is his policies.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 01:24 PM

For you and me

its about policies. for many, many others, its about appearances, inlkings, personalities, personal histories, and other campaign detritus that shouldn't matter nearly enough as it does. was it really policies that brought down gore and kerry?

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 01:26 PM

Great ad - Using an American voice would make it better

What's up with using a British-sounding narrator for this ad? This is the United States and the election is for the US presidency. The choice of a British-sounding narrator is frankly bizarre, and takes away from an otherwise excellent message. I really don't get this choice. If it's a take on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"., the point has been extended too far. The juxtaposition of McCain's wealth with a regular American narrator would probably work far better and would also be meaningful to those people who never bothered to watch Robin Leach (such as myself, for one - since I couldn't stand his pretentious accent to begin with).

Why not use an Australian (Leach using his native accent?), or a Canadian, eh? Or a Frenchman, or Hungarian? If American voices aren't good enough for American ads in an American election, then you need to find better marketing folks before the Democrats forfeit yet another election.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 01:28 PM

the announcer's British accent

...is a wierd distraction. This is an American election, it doesn't help make the case to have a foreigner announcing and makes it a little hard to understand. I love the concept of exposing Republican phoniness though.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 01:33 PM

Clueless? Tone deaf? What!

Today, McCain did a campaign stop in Ohio at a nearly closed down manufacturing plant, and proclaimed a bright future through free trade.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/34495.html

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 01:42 PM

I ain't sayin' he's a gold digger...

but I don't see him working two jobs and skipping vacation.

The accent was a take on Robin Leach, maybe?

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 01:50 PM

If Cindy is so wealthy

Couldn't she have bought someone more impressive than Johnny Mac? There is nothing attractive about this guy.

I forget who said it (John Stewart maybe) but nothing sums up my impression of McCain more than the old coot in the neighborhood shouting "You kids get off my lawn"!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 01:54 PM

He's rich and you could be too,

If you got a second job that paid really, really well or stole some of his wife's stuff to sell on E-bay. He's an old, short, fat, ugly, balding, nasty, angry asshole. If he wasn't riddled with cancer, it would be easy to mistake him for Cheney. I'm curious about how much she makes for doing nothing and what pills he takes, besides Prozac. Does anyone besides John Stewart have the balls to ask?

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 01:55 PM

Whats your point?

That Obama is poor?

Let's get more stupid now.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 02:07 PM

Terrible Ad

It's way too long

The narrator's voice is irritating and distracting. If this were playing onn TV, I would have flipped the channel.

The edits of McCain speaking were so clipped that they came off as being taken out of context.

And so what if he married money? Are people only allowed to marry within their own socio-economic class?

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 02:17 PM

You know what he also is,

is really not young. Found this earlier today:

http://youngerthanmccain.com/

Love the final shot of McCain, looks like Popeye encouraging us to eat our spinach.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 02:25 PM

Got to admit it takes some chutzpah...

...to attack McCain with the identical smear that was used against Kerry.

Hey, I'm not saying it won't work. It might even be more effective, since the target audience (people who would still vote Repug) is already primed with loathing for "the senator who married into money". The trick is going to be making McCain embody everything bad about Bush and Kerry at the same time. Accomplish that, and all the barbecues in the world won't resurrect his candidacy.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 02:26 PM

"..he's the old, angry, rich Bush clone"

You forgot to add, he's corrupt. Of course, the "Bush clone" would normally cover that angle, but it's just fun to say, "McCain is corrupt."

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 03:39 PM

Yea, but what about the prenup?

My understanding is that the vast, vast majority of McCain's money comes from Cindy and is subject to a prenuptial agreement. John McCain lives large but if Cindy dumps him he'll certainly descend from the ranks of the filthy rich. Hillary of course is now among the filthy rich because of her books and Bill's earnings giving speeches, and Obama is not too bad off. I don't grudge either of them a cent and nor do I see how any of the candidates' respective wealth will be an issue in the general election.

Let's face it, politicians and other famous people are able to acquire obscene wealth in this country. Look at Al Gore, who was only modestly well off when he ran for president but because of his film on global warming and speaking engagements is now worth God knows what.

We can only hope that whatever rich candidate becomes president doesn't forget the plight of the poor or middle class "bitter" people.

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