Praising Obama by Mistake

Barack Obama's candidacy inspired two key opponents to make the same bumbling blunder. In the Dem primary, Hillary Clinton, and now when it's real enough, John McCain, made it too plain that voters like Obama better than them.

November's voters believe him more and they contribute at higher rates. Trying to spin these pluses as proof that he is lightweight and not ready to be prez can only backfire.

Head over to McCain's site to view his latest ad. (Right now, the TV AD: CELEB is a top tab.) Click below to catch Jon Stewart's riff on the asininity of it.

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Another nice variation was in today's Doonesbury. Rick's been an Obama guy and Joanie remains a Hillary believter. Rick says, "...as if using his extraordinary gifts to excite voters was somehow cheating."

That's a cartoon, but is too true.

Now McCain is trying the same failed approach. He tries to slam Obama by saying people like him better and that he spends more money on his campaign. I suppose voters aren't supposed to notice that popularity translates into votes and victory, and that he gets more money because more people want and expect him to win. Contributions are that other key way to vote before the actual election.

Moreover, yesterday I got a McCain contribution letter (what rascal put me on that list?). It has a similar, sure-to-fail, attempted scare:

The Obama Democrats and their liberal allies have built the most massive political fundraising machine ever seen. They are growing their mailing lists and phone banks, perfecting their technologies, developing their money-raising techniques – from telephones to text-messageing to mail to the Internet to knocking on doors. And it is working.

Here again, Obama doesn't have to point out the obvious. He has the volunteers and people are signing up to vote and contribute to his campaign. Obama doesn't have to tell them. McCain does it for them.

While not as bad as that 1988 Willie Horton ad, McCain's CELEB is pretty sleazy in its own way. It juxtaposes and overlays disreputable party girls Britney Spears and Paris Hilton with Obama, with all the low-life associations involved.

Unfortunately for the tricksters, it unwittingly shows actual footage of adoring Obama supporters, as well as the much more confident and even much better looking Obama. As with Hillary, putting the sour, dour and negative candidate in contrast the obvious winner is a boneheaded tactic.

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Tags: massmarrier, Clinton, Obama, McCain, ads