Reply to The funniest political add ever

Forum Index » Political Discussion

Reply to "The funniest political add ever"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele]I just had another thought about this. Regardless of whether Cain is serious about his campaign, he is currently leading national polls for the Republican nomination. I can't believe that the Republican elite is happy about that. Similarly, remember back in 2004 when Howard Dean was doing fairly well in the polls and the Democratic elite was not happy about that. Then the famous "Dean Scream" occurred. In reality, Dean was speaking to a very loud crowd and could barely be heard by most people there. The recording was made by a boom mic held just over his head. So, the recordings provided a very distorted view of Dean's speech. Nevertheless, that episode was used to turn him into a joke and marginalize him for the rest of the campaign.

While there is no escaping the fact that this ad is really bad, is it really so bad as to deserve the nearly endless media attention it is getting? I understand why leftist bloggers might want to poke fun at it. But, I just checked and several right-wing or center-right media outlets are also joking about it. For instance, the NY Daily News headline is "Weird Herman Cain Ad Surfaces On YouTube" and Forbes, "Herman Cain's Campaign Ad Message Goes Up In Smoke". And, then the kicker, Fox News: "Where There’s Smoke, There’s Herman Cain’s New Web Video?" I suspect that there are plenty of Republican operatives (and not just from opposing campaigns) working behind the scenes to encourage this type of reporting. I think Herman Cain is about to get the Howard Dean treatment. 
[/quote]

I respectfully dissent, Mr. Steele.  I think there is something strangely brilliant about that ad.   You are trying to understand it intellectually, which is not what it is trying to do.  On an atavistic level I think it works, sending the message that Cain is a good guy, with a sense of humor, and a serious political insider who works for him thinks he can win.  The cocky smirk Mr. Cain has at the end is effective as well:  superficially we can all tut-tut about it, but the underlying messags is one of utter confidence.  The smoking is brilliant, and is the most important element of the ad:  it guarantees the ad will get lots of attention--there is no greater taboo in public life today than smoking--and shows that Cain has the balls to do whatever the hell he thinks best; it invokes the legendary smoke-filled rooms of yore, suggesting Cain is a realist who knows how the game is played; and is a clever little tweak at President Obama:  Mr. Cain is open about the smokers on his campaign, so why the cover-up of Obama's smoking?  At least, that's the rumor--I can't say whether it is true or not--but it is a commonplace among the Republican base and Mr. Cain exploits it effectively here.

The media blitz on how horrible the ad is only plays into this:  I read lots of coverage about the ad before seeing it, and I thought that it was going to be a catastrophe.  When I watched it, I thought it was cheeky but kind of clever.  The take-away message: Cain's a lot more clever than you think and than the media is telling you.  Viral, name recognition, made a lot of people smile.  A net positive.  In 15 years we will look back on this ad as a significant milestone in how political candidates use the internet.

I still hope he loses, though, because I think you are correct, he's not ready for prime time as a presidential candidate and that would create a lot of opportunity for Obama to win.   I do think he would be a pretty effective VP candidate--ideology aside, wouldn't you rather have him one heartbeat away than Joe Biden?  Just until you can unseat him in 2016, of course.  :)

Mr. Cain has clearly become The Most Interesting Candidate In The World.  Amusing, and a positive for his campaign, but not enough to close the gap.  Romney is not going to blow this.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics