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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
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Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
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February 6, 2012
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Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
August 5, 2008
/ 4 Menachem-Av 5768
McCain vs. Obama ad wars heat up
By
Clarence Page
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
What do Paris Hilton and Britney Spears have in common with offshore oil drilling?
All three come together in an odd attack ad from Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. The ad from the presumptive Republican nominee charges Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, of being wait for it a celebrity!
Are you shocked? Did you faint dead away?
As attack ads go, this one seems notably inept at least at first glance. There's no doomsday voiceover, no sharks-in-the-water music, no grainy slow-motion close-up photos of scary headlines or indicted co-conspirators.
Instead, red-carpet shots of the starlets segue into majestic scenes of Obama smiling to cheering crowds. It ends with a predictably distorted description of Obama's energy policy. In brief: Obama hugs trees, McCain hugs offshore oil rigs.
Yet, as attack ads go, this one hardly leaves a mark on Obama's constantly- uplifted chin. In fact, "if you shut off the sound," one somewhat bemused GOP pollster told the Los Angeles Times, "almost all the images of Obama are very positive." Just as it is hard to make an antiwar movie that depicts what soldiers really go through, it is not easy to make an anti-Obama ad that shows Obama in front of cheering crowds.
But the ad's value soon proved itself. By highlighting Paris and Britney, it received millions of dollars worth of free airplay and chatter on cable TV and the celebrity gossip shows and reporters. McCain's ad people understand TV's weakness for the spoiled celebrities that audiences love to deplore.
Ironically it was not that long ago that McCain was tagged in Republican circles as a star-seeker. He's hosted Saturday Night Live, acted on "24" and in "The Wedding Crashers" and enjoyed such favorable coverage that NBC's Chris Matthews, among others, used to call the media McCain's "base."
And Hollywood folks loved him, too. Hollywood names like Norman Lear, Harrison Ford, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and Michael Douglas have made campaign donations to the "maverick" McCain. Now he's belittling Paris Hilton, the daughter of Rick and Kathleen Hilton, two of McCain's campaign contributors, according to the Los Angeles Times. Great way to say thanks, Senator.
Nowadays McCain looks like a wallflower at the prom while his former adoring media runs off after the new dreamboat. Like most media-driven campaign narratives, it's overblown. Although McCain received less coverage than Obama in recent weeks, a George Mason University study found that Obama's coverage tended to include more criticism of him than McCain's did. The media giveth and we taketh away.
Obama was expressing more concern with the media that his opponents pay to put on the air. On the day McCain's ad rolled out into TV markets in 11 states, Obama said in Missouri that McCain and other Republicans would try to frighten voters by talking about Obama's "funny name" and the fact that "he doesn't look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills." McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis took umbrage. He accused Sen. Barack Obama of playing the "race card ... from the bottom of the deck," borrowing a line that us old-timers remember from the O. J. Simpson trials.
Times have changed. You used to have to be engaged in actual bigotry to be accused of "playing the race card." These days you can be accused of racism merely for bringing up the subject of race.
Soon a viral idea spread across the blogosphere and talk shows that, in juxtaposing Obama with the two fame queens, the ad delivered subliminally racist messages. Could this, many asked, be a more subtle version of the bimbo ad that undermined Democratic Rep. Harold Ford's senate campaign in Tennessee?
I don't buy it. Unlike the Ford ads, the McCain ads imply no relationship between Obama and the blondes.
Besides, if you want to argue subliminals, this ad might just as easily sway some of the "Leave Britney Alone" crowd to vote for Obama, if they can find their polling places.
On another front, Obama had to take time to denounce a new song by the rapper Ludacris, "Politics (Obama is Here)."
Besides taking cheap vulgar shots at McCain and Hillary Clinton, the song includes a line that echoes a recent controversial New Yorker cover: "We gonna paint the White House black," he raps, "and I'm sure that's got 'em terrified." Most terrified is the Obama camp by Ludacris' subliminal gift to the McCain campaign, as both vie for the support of working-class white Americans who are not all big fans of rap.
That's show biz. It's not enough to run against your opposition. You also have to keep your suppporters on message.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on Clarence Page's column by clicking here.
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