It's the final week and Obama's ads continue to hit just the right notes. Here is the first TV message approved by Obama that has made direct reference to Sarah Palin:
This ad is really intriguing in a lot of different ways and it packs a heavy, well aimed punch right to John McCain's swollen left cheek.
The ad focuses on the right issue, the economy. It doesn't attack Palin, yet fully evokes the dread that overcomes any critical thinker contemplating the vision of Palin in the Oval Office. The message carries a heck of a punch by using McCain's own words, and his deed of selecting Palin as his sole Presidential caliber action of the campaign. The message has a laser tight focus on the fact that the other ticket cannot be trusted with the economy and McCain's poor judgment just makes things worse.
The ad also has an unusual and interesting structure. It uses no voice over until the Obama message of approval at the end. The images are stock of McCain and Palin at Republican events. The text consists of published quotes from McCain made since the last Presidentail election. The only written messages from the campaign are "JOHN MCCAIN IN HIS OWN WORDS:" at the beginning, "HIS CHOICE?" just before the image of Palin winking and "ON NOVEMBER 4TH, YOU GET TO MAKE YOURS.". The music is an insistent acoustic guitar riff.
I wonder if this ad might be particularly effective with the small remaining cadre of alleged "undecided" voters. Think of who these people might be: They don't know who to believe. They don't know who to trust. They don't understand anything that is happening. They're mostly not getting along very well and wish life were easier. A hard hitting economic message like this could win some of them over. Let's just hope they can read.