by John McCormick, updated
There was little surprise to the new online-only campaign ad presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama unveiled today.
His 2002 opposition to the invasion of Iraq has been one of the most central and consistent messages in the Illinois Democrat's campaign, so it was obvious that an ad like this would arrive at some point.
Called "Blank Check," the ad comes on the five-year anniversary of the U.S. Senate's vote to support the use of military force in Iraq. (It is a topic the Obama campaign will hit hard today, including with a series of 11 news conferences throughout Iowa.)
At more than a minute, the ad would likely be too long to run on television. But don't be surprised if an edited-down version eventually makes its way to screens in Iowa and New Hampshire.
It features remade audio of a speech in Chicago's Federal Plaza that Obama, then a state senator, gave in early October 2002, as the Senate was preparing to vote.
"One leader warned of that disaster before it began," a female announcer says, leading into audio re-read by Obama from his 2002 speech. "One leader resisted the march to war."
Top Obama strategist and ad guru David Axelrod told the Tribune last week that he has in his possession only 14 seconds of video from that speech, and that it is not of high enough quality to work well in a campaign ad.
So, the 2002 audio and still photos of Obama must suffice.
“I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length at undetermined cost with undetermined consequences," Obama says in the ad. "I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda."
In Iowa, meanwhile, Obama's campaign plans to announce a post-card writing campaign to call on Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican who is one of the most popular political figures in the state, to join efforts to end the war.
On Saturday, the campaign also plans to send thousands of supporters across Iowa to knock on doors to talk about Obama and distribute the post cards.
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Comments
But was he wearing a flag pin when he gave the speach? Come on Swamp, that's the really important thing, isn't it?
Posted by: nisleib | October 11, 2007 9:29 AM
I like Obama, and I agree he, in 2002, demonstrated the political courage and insight to lead... but that ad was a heart-string tugger, a tad sensational. Maybe that needs to be said, I dunno, I just usually respond with great skepticism in regards to any ad that uses a piano/drumroll instrumental with shimmering cymbals to make its point. I'm voting for president, not a bandleader.
Posted by: dre dre dre | October 11, 2007 9:37 AM
Swamp motto: "Let no Obama fundraising letter or video go unpublicized."
Swamp writers always like to carry the water for their friend, former colleague, and current political hit-man David Axelrod.
Posted by: Bruce | October 11, 2007 9:37 AM
Obama is already toast as a Prez candidates but I guess all his chic, wealthy backers who have absolutely nothing in common with average Americans
want to prolong the agony. They got the money to waste, after all.
And it's not at all clear that Americans want to end the war. Despite a lot of complaining about Bush, Iraq, the useless new Democratic Congress, yada, yada, yada, the American public hasn't summoned up the will to send any more than a mixed message. Apparently, there are tens,
even a hundred or so?, million of us who want to keep bleeding out lives and trillions in Iraq under the mistaken impression that it makes us safer. Bush has done his job well. That's what Obama handler Axelrod
seems to have missed. Maybe it comes from spending too much time with movie stars and hedge fund managers. After a while, they forget
the rest of America. As Axelrod and Obama clearly have.
This ad isn't going to mean a thing.
Posted by: Helena | October 11, 2007 9:52 AM
Bruce, you call David Axelrod a "political hitman." At least he is not a lobbyist crony like Hillary's team. Mark Penn CEO of the PR firm Bursom and Marstellar her chief strategist. Sick stuff and under the rug. Also Howard Wolfson and Pattis Solis Doyle her managers. The are from the Glover Park Group. Very twisted. Go see for yourself.
Posted by: jdr | October 11, 2007 11:35 AM
Obama needs to take his argument one step further-and ask why Senator Clinton voted to give Bush authority to start the Iraq war? Does anyone really believe she thought he wouldn't use the authority her vote bestowed upon him? Why did she ignore the warnings of Bent Scrowcroft and hundreds of other foreign policy experts who predicted the horrible results of this ill conceived adventure? The hard truth is that Clinton's opposition would have have forced a real debate before all the money and lives were spent, but she chose to put her interests first. And the great irony is that if Obama really wants the nomination enough to take her on directly, she will not get the nomination of a party whose rank and file were against this war long before the Democratic "leaders" in Washington.
If she could see the road ahead, her lack of judgment disqualifies her for the presidency. If she voted as she did in the cynical calculation that if it works her career will be helped and if it fails she can join in a critic of "how" the war was waged, then her willingness to compromise American lives and treasure disqualifies her.
Posted by: Phil Merrill | October 11, 2007 11:37 AM
Bruce, do you have a constructive comment on this article? Obama was dead on, unlike your bungling hero of a President and his corrupt advisors. But that’s what you chicken hawk right winger’s like to do; ignore the message and attack the source when it comes to your precious little war. This country is a mess because of short sighted people like you and the current administration. And Helena, I’m not sure I get the gist of your rambling post.
Posted by: Tim | October 11, 2007 11:46 AM
Obama made a statement about the quality of our "fight". We attacked Iraq because they had "weapons of mass destruction", no it was because "Saadam had ties with Bin Laden", nope...nope..it was neither I think I heard it was about the sufferage going on in Iraq. Hummmm. We lost before we ever launched the first missle; never start a war without a plan: resolve and withdrawal.
On top of that...always know what your fighting for and standing up against (know your opponent)--inequality and injustice or threat and territory? Obama knew, as many of us knew, that this (war) would still be going on 5 years later. And now the next president will have spend his (full) term trying to "band-aid" some wounds that may never heal. Iraq will be a stitch job for some years to come. There is a time to fight (war) and there is a time for diplomacy, but there should always be a time for peace and resolution--when was the last time America experienced that? America is the greatest nation to call home--so let our focus be on bringing our men and women back...home!
FYI...wearing a flag (pin) on your suit doesn't make you patriotic it makes you symbolic. Patriots wear their flags in their hearts and in their actions!
Posted by: Cause and Effect | October 11, 2007 11:48 AM
Please do more stories about Edwards, Dodd and Biden for those of us who have already ruled out Obama and Clinton.
Posted by: Vivian | October 11, 2007 12:39 PM