Yeah, yeah, politicians lie. Usually, we use euphemisms like "spin" or "exaggeration," but good ol' Mittens seems to be hanging his entire campaign on a series of what can really only be considered lies. Especially when you consider that even when his points are debunked, he just keeps going with the ads, unheeded. Here's the latest.
[Excerpt] The scandal behind Romney's new attack ad
First, a little background. Some Republican governors this year asked the Obama administration for some new flexibility on welfare standards -- the governors had some ideas about moving folks from welfare to work and needed the White House to sign off. Obama agreed -- existing work requirements would stay in place, but states, if they want to, can take advantage of new flexibility when it comes to experimenting with existing law. . .
Have you watched very much television lately? Do you live in a swing state? If you're like me (my swing state is Nevada), you've been deluged, buried, shat upon by political advertisements, the majority of which are negative. But there's a difference this year, and I don't just mean the increased amount of ads made possible by Citizens United.
The difference is the level of unapologetic lying. And no--as far as I can tell--both sides don't do it. I know this because President Obama has on a couple of occasions changed the content of his ads when critics pointed out issues with their veracity. That's what usually happens in politics. Whether Team Obama deliberately lied, and was caught, or if they were simply wrong, I'll not argue. But they have corrected themselves. On the Mitt Romney side, I've seen quite the opposite. [Story continues below]
For example, Romney's first ad, a clip of Obama quoting John McCain was taken out of context to sound as though Obama was expressing his own thoughts. It's plain, it's clear, it's a lie. But it's still up, and the campaign said the result was "exactly what we want." Since then, Romney's ads have followed that template: say something untrue or out of context (I'll give the benefit of the doubt, and say unintentionally), then when called on it, soldier on anyway, undeterred, with no correction.
When I was at the dentist on Friday (see the results in my Facebook photo in the left column!), the Olympics were on the set. On every commercial break, there were at least four political ads, usually one by Romney, one by Obama, and two from the allegedly unaffiliated Romney SuperPACs. If it isn't three-to-one, it's close, with the occasional interest group-funded anti-Shelley Berkley ad. Sometimes, there's room for little else, and the same anti-Obama ad plays twice in a row.
The SuperPAC ads play like Lyndon Johnson's "Daisy" ad, with an ominous, oh-so-concerned voiceover, dramatic scary music, black-and-white quick cuts of grainy pictures, headlines, whatever. It's the same thing we all know, just A WHOLE LOT MORE!!!
But, leave it to ol' Willard to again take an out-of-context quote (one that doesn't even make sense as a point Obama would try to make), and run with it. It's the "you didn't build that" line, in an otherwise uncontroversial speech, about how we're all in this together. It was cribbed from Elizabeth Warren (who tells it better, though the President may have just had a inelegant patch in his speech that day), and about nothing more than realizing that no matter how successful you are, you had help. When you make a bundle in America, you needed America to do it. Populist stuff.
Romney's team cobbled together the President's "gaffe" (in quotes, because it really wasn't one), and has one ad in particular that is running every commercial break in Nevada. In it, they take the line and present it dishonestly. Then a grey-haired man in a green t-shirt gets all indignant and butt-hurt that the Prez is attacking him, attacking small business. Doesn't Obama realize that he and his dad built this company with his bare hands, blood and ball-sweat? Yeah, and a whole bunch of government help, it turns out!
So, the premise of the ad (that Obama meant business people didn't build their own businesses) is wrong, hinging on one barely suspect pronoun, "that." The dude in the ad is--I want to say "fraud," but let's be charitable--not completely honest. And yet, the ad runs endlessly with no correction, no clarification. This tactic is new at the presidential level, as far as I know.
[Excerpt]
Guy Who Thinks Small Business Loans Aren’t ‘Government Help’ Also Can’t Tell Cusses From Threats
So it turns out that the business owner in that dumb Romney ad about the fake “You didn’t build that” line, and who it turns out actually did rely on government loans and contracts for some of his business, now haz a sad because some people have been calling and emailing his business to say mean things about him. Jack Gilchrist, owner of a metal fabrication company in Hudson, New Hampshire, appeared in the ad, above, whining about being “demonized” by the President for being successful, which of course rather badly misses the point. . .
This is interesting, I guess. But is it any worse than the ads John McCain and Sarah Palin did run? I think by the time this ad would've aired, the Rev. Wright issue had pretty much played out. People bothered by the issue never forgot it, and people who'd dismissed it were unlikely to take it up again. Watch, and see what you think.
Ever wonder how John McCain, the supposed "straight talker," could approve all of those ridiculous and untrue negative ads? Last night's Saturday Night Live put together a plausible scenario. And former cast member and staff writer (not to mention Senate candidate) Al Franken conceived the piece suggested the idea to Lorne Michaels [Updated 09/22/08]. Enjoy.
I've tried to do my part to expose the lies told by John McCain and Sarah Palin. But, damn, it's a hefty list! And my blog only reaches a couple hundred people a day, most days. Brave New Films has a much longer reach, thank goodness.
Their latest film exposes the lies and distortions in McCain-Palin's most recent ads. Take a look.
John McCain's ads are LIES. Here's the video proof.
After a week centered on the Republican National Convention, and the jaw-dropping choice of (inexplicably popular within conservative circles) Sarah Palin, we didn't get to see much of what Barack Obama was up to last week. So, this campaign commercial may not be brand new, but I thought it was worth a posting.
There seems to be a distinct difference between the types of ads from the two campaigns. John McCain's negative ads have been laced with imagery and words that were. . .how shall I put this. . .untrue? This is unsurprising since McCain seems to be taking a Karl Rove approach to the way he runs his campaign (unlike in 2000). Rove, as anybody knows, is completely comfortable throwing anything out there to slime an opponent, true or not.
What has always made me frustrated is that Democrats have a wellspring of true negative material, but seem unwilling to use it, much of the time. Here, Obama manages to do just that, putting together a negative ad that does not need to stray from the truth. Good job!
I'm convinced that the only way that John McCain will win the election in November, is if he manages to lie enough, often enough, that he convinces people he is the lesser of two evils. His campaign lately has been bashing Barack Obama, while being heedless of the truth.
Finally, someone in the mainstream media has called him on it. It's about time.
[Excerpt]
From the Fact Check Desk: Did Obama Say Iran Is a 'Tiny' Country That 'Doesn't Pose a Serious Threat'?
We, in the media, have given a lot of airtime to the TV ads of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., this week, starring, as they do, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.
There's been evidence emerging that McCain's campaign isn't really running these ads anywhere, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group. . .
I'm not naive enough to believe that only Republicans go negative in political campaigns. It's just that they seem dirtier somehow. While I'm sure there are exceptions, Democratic negative ads are at least tangentially related to truth. With Republican negative ads, all bets are off.
Here is a negative John McCain ad, made by a YouTube-er. This is what a real anti-McCain ad would look like if Democrats fought like Republicans do. And as far as I can tell, they didn't have to lie to do it.
