The Atlantic - Latest Comments in The attack ads cometh

Re: The attack ads cometh

Just Dropping By — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:45:58 -0000

Obama should do a local ad for Colorado on McCain's suggestion that the Colorado River compact should be "renegotiated," i.e., changed in Arizona and California's favor.

Re: The attack ads cometh

Doctor Jay — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:01:38 -0000

@MarkG

They may be standard phrases, but they will resonate with the people of their region.

We could debate whether we are "better off" than we were in 1970, but that's not really the issue, is it? It doesn't have much salience.

What's far more important is whether we are better off than we were in Y2K. Real median income has declined, even as the GDP has grown. All the growth and a little more has gone to the very few at the top. And Republican policies have played a large role in that.

What the person in Indiana and Iowa know and feel is that things have got harder for them, not easier. They are having to give up more, not get more. They are going backward, and they aren't happy about it.

This is Obama saying, "I get it. McCain doesn't get it." In both cases.

Re: The attack ads cometh

Hill Rat — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:36:36 -0000

As far as attack ads go, these are pretty mild. I'm looking for some off the hook, 527, Swift Boat style craziness to hit the airwaves before too long.

Re: The attack ads cometh

Steve — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:18:21 -0000

It's not a strategy, it's a function of having lots of money! The reason most campaigns announce their negative ads in advance is because they get tons of free advertising once the media starts buzzing about the "controversial" ad. Since Obama is rolling in it, he doesn't need to play that game.

Re: The attack ads cometh

MarkG — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:51:43 -0000

Dave, I agree. I think we should get rid of aging, legacy restrictions on nuclear power that prohibit reprocessing. The technology is proven and very safe and also efficient.

What I find weird is that the Obama team wants to demagogue the issue along the lines of 70s-era leftist thinking: a mindset that actually rules out any type of progress involving growth and technology as too dangerous.

I think we should build on what we have available while refining the engineering rather than simply banning stuff across the board.

Re: The attack ads cometh

DaveinHackensack — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:41:42 -0000

"I mean, if you believe the fuel and wast can't safely be transported, then you pretty much want to rule out the use of nuclear energy."

Mark,

If we reprocessed the uranium in our nuclear power plants, like most countries do, we'd have a lot less nuclear waste. As for nuclear energy being "viable", there's no question. Look at France, for example, which gets something like 80% of its electricity from nukes. The question here is a political one: whether the same folks who complain about fossil fuels want to keep standing in the way of the only currently-viable, large-scale alternative to fossil fuels for generating electricity.

Re: The attack ads cometh

MarkG — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:27:42 -0000

The one on Yucca Mountain would only seem viable in Nevada. The subtext is the unchallenged conventional wisdom that nukyular waste cannot safely be transported. On its own, I think the ad would be useful as a starting point to debate whether or not nuclear power is viable. I mean, if you believe the fuel and wast can't safely be transported, then you pretty much want to rule out the use of nuclear energy.

The second one appears to repeat standard leftist catch phrases about the economy. The problem with its claim is that individual economic "pain" does not a recession make. Even in the best of economic times -- which we have enjoyed for practically 25 years with little interruption -- some will still be unemployed or suffer financial hardship of some sort.

Even the tough times we're supposedly having now are sheer luxury compared to the 70s. Hell, even the simplistic yardstick for poverty (household income) fails to capture our wealth. No one 20 or 30 years ago could imagine that "the poor" could enjoy mobile phones, computers, etc. The minimum standards of well-being have crept inexorably upward.

There's truth in the trope that a lower-middle-class family today lives better in every way than a rich person did 100 years ago.

Re: The attack ads cometh

Ruth — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:05:05 -0000

Exxxxcellent. I especially love the tagline w/ photo of McCain and Bush together. I just hope the campaign won't back down when the media and McCain people start whining about how this undermines his positive message, how dare he question a POW, etc.