Andrew Romano of Newsweek has this take on the recent John McCain attack ad strategy, particularly the “Pump” ad that blames Barack Obama for rising gasoline prices and “Troops” that falsely accuses Obama of skipping a visit with wounded troops in Europe because the Pentagon doesn’t allow cameras:
Sadly, however, a political ad doesn’t have to be accurate to be effective. Just ask John Kerry.
The key difference between the two spots is their intended targets. Currently airing in 11 battleground states, “Pump” is “a heavy hitter in McCain’s rotation,” according to Evan Tracey, who tracks media buys TNS Media Intelligence’s Gampaign Media Analysis Group. “Troops,” meanwhile, ran as a paid commercial “roughly a dozen” times, total–just enough to get make it the subject of debate (and more than a hundred free, repeat screenings) on local, national and cable newscasts. Today’s New York Times called this “a public relations coup that allowed [McCain] to show his toughest campaign advertisement of the year—one widely panned as misleading—to millions of people, largely free, through television news media hungry for political news with arresting visual imagery.” But when coupled with “Pump” it’s something more: a way for McCain to keep the national political conversation centered on Obama’s “patriotism” and readiness to lead (free of charge) while quietly reframing the debate over drilling and gas prices to his advantage in a slew of key swing states (free of national media interference). As we said earlier, savvy–if not particularly ethical.
For the first month of the general election, McCain seemed to lack a coherent message. But now it’s clear that he intends to sow doubts about Obama’s policies, experience and trustiworthiness however he can–even by misleading voters. The point: to raise the risk factor. Reasonable people can disagree over whether this assault will work. Earlier this week, for example, we wrote that McCain’s nonstop negativity risks alienating moderates originally attracted to his unique brand, and some Republicans, like former McCain guru Mike Murphy, are already saying that the campaign “should ultimately be more about what Mr. McCain would do than Mr. Obama.” But one thing that’s no longer up for debate is whether Team McCain is getting its “message” out–however many cheese aisles the candidate happens to find himself in.
We’ll know in November if it was worth the effort.
Keep in mind that McCain’s hired Bush-Cheney guru Steve Schmidt to run the show, so it shouldn’t be any surprise to watch Rove-ian tactics coming out of this camp. But if the ads are false, don’t they also raise an issue of trustworthiness for McCain, the man who’s “flip-flopped” on the Bush tax cuts, domestic oil drilling and so on?
Maybe, but the point appears to simply be to sow enough doubt in voters’ minds of Obama as president, especially among independents and undecideds, even if McCain needs to make false claims.
