by Mark Silva
Cue the positive: The Olympics are in full swing and the conventions are about to begin. And, sooner than later, a running mate or two will be born.
Barack Obama not only returns from vacation this weekend, but also plans to roll out a national television campaign ad with a decidedly positive message:
The ad, laid out on the TV screen like a blueprint, is built around the building of a three-bedroom ranch house and lays out Obama's promises for rebuilding the American economy.
This follows a week of Olympic-size ad wars between Obama and Republican rival John McCain, in which McCain's network-run Summer Games ads have labeled Obama as "not ready to lead'' and Obama has run a positive national message but also battleground state ads calling McCain, like President Bush, "in the pocket'' of big oil. The Democrat also has run battleground ads accusing McCain and Bush of playing from the same economic game plan: A costly war and high oil prices.
The new upbeat Obama ad run - making its debut Monday - will start to lay the groundwork for the message that the Democratic candidate for president hopes to carry out of his party's nominating convention in Denver the following week.
The ad promises to "put hard working Americans first'' by growing the economy, eliminate tax cuts for companies that send jobs overseas, create new jobs at home, invest in education and cut taxes for working families.
The ad will air on cable and broadcast outets in all 50 states starting Monday. It will reach a national audience by airing on all "the platforms'' that NBC has for its exclusive Olympics coverage, the Obama campaign says. That includes the cable MSNBC. As camp Obama notes: "The Olympics are everywhere.''
"It begins with a plan,'' the narrator says of Obama's vision. "A plan to build. A plan to put hard working Americans first. Barack Obama. He'll put the middle class ahead of corporate interests to... Grow the economy. End tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Help businesses that create jobs here. Invest in education. Cut taxes for working families. And make energy independence an urgent national priority.''
• 
• 
• 
Comments
and for $13.95 you too can have a presumptive idea of what Sen. Obama's staff thinks he might do if elected to cure the economy. The devil's always in the details, so what's up with the details, you devil you? It begins with a plan! Paying for the plan is of no consequence silly people.
It cost alot of money to pander these days so you all better keep sending those $25 checks. Make sure to ask the solicitor for Sen. Obama how much of a cut he/she gets from those campaign contributions. This is becoming a lucrative business for college students these days. Paying your way through law school knocking on doors asking for political donations is a great way to get the Young & Educated involved.
Posted by: Springfield | August 14, 2008 11:50 AM
As the saying goes, I have some swamp -- er -- land that I can sell you cheap! Seriously though, the promises to hand out money left and right are just so unrealistic as is the promise to have 85% of US population on hybrids at the 10-year point. Anybody can just look around Central Florida and see that many people are not going to be able to afford a hybrid.
Posted by: Frank | August 14, 2008 12:09 PM
Look everbody!!! A plan. What does McCain have to offer America besides personal attack ads and retreading the same tired and stale ideas. Maybe McCain can find something useful in Wikipedia.....again.
Posted by: jackson | August 14, 2008 12:10 PM
"Grow the economy. End tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Help businesses that create jobs here. Invest in education. Cut taxes for working families. And make energy independence an urgent national priority.''
Yeah, right...
1) Grow the economy...what exactly IS the plan for that? HOW will he do that?
2) End tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas...how will he ID a company that does that? And why is that a bad thing for a country that champions free-markets and capitalism? Biggest question though is: how exactly will he identify such companies, such job transfers, and which 'tax breaks' will he eliminate? Plans are no good without details.
3) Invest in education...does that mean more property taxes and/or more income taxes? How exactly do you increase funding for education without tax dollars?
4) Cut taxes for working families...see #3 above. And all the demographic trends I've seen lately show that the percentage of Americans working will be steadily falling over the coming decades as the boomers age and retire. So who exactly is going to pick up the slack if workers aren't taxed? Retiree's?
4) Make energy independence an urgent national priority...again: HOW? Blueprints have materials specified, dimensions shown, elevations and all the nitty gritty plumbing details worked out...what exactly IS his plan for energy independence?
Blueprint, or sketch on the back of a napkin?
Posted by: Toivo | August 14, 2008 12:16 PM
Is there a lot next door to that 3-bedroom house that is
available, just in case they foreclose on it and I need a place to pitch my tent?
Posted by: vla | August 14, 2008 1:03 PM
I'll be glad when the elections are over. All Americans want a better, safe future for themselves and their children. But politics divides us as to HOW to achieve those things. On this site we use name calling and labels to belittle others we don't even know.
'Don't be afraid of what you see.'
-Ronald Reagan
Posted by: Michael Bingamon | August 14, 2008 1:07 PM
Just to show you how messed up his plans are, that's not a ranch house, that's a Cape Cod house.
He's going to show that on national television???
To graphically show how what he plans isn't what gets built?
Posted by: Raokman | August 14, 2008 3:15 PM
How will Barack Obama pay for his plan? By cutting off the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2%. By closing the tax loopholes that allowed 66% of corporations to get away with paying no taxes. By ceasing the hundreds of billions of free money we are currently giving to KBR, Blackwater, et al. By stopping the flow of jobs overseas, thereby increasing our own tax revenues (because more of us have jobs). By fixing the economy, which means investing in infastructure, which creates even more jobs, which increases tax revenues. By LEADING, which Bush and McCain have no interest in doing. I really wish you right-wingnuts would stop defending a party that seeks to drain the money from the middle class and give it to people who allready have more than enough.
Posted by: Chicagoan | August 14, 2008 5:24 PM
I guess the most we can hope for is three bedrooms?
Posted by: Wade | August 14, 2008 5:56 PM
Gee, I do believe that I heard Obam's plan somewhere before, now where could that have been. Hmmmm, let me think. Oh, I know sounds exactly like Hillary's plan that she laid out during the primaries. That's it he just stole another one from Hillary. He really better make Hillary his VP, if she don't steal the nom from him. After all what will he do for information if he hasn't got her nearby to give him advice.
Posted by: RFB | August 14, 2008 10:09 PM