Two new joint McCain-Palin/Republican National Committee radio ads surfaced Tuesday morning in Montana, where the RNC also plans to start broadcasting television ads on Wednesday -- a sign of the state's new competitiveness in the presidential race. Both of Tuesday's radio ads suggest that Barack Obama does not understand America.
In one of the new spots, legendary country singer Hank Williams Jr. pounces on the months-old "bittergate" controversy.
"When Barack Obama said folks like you and me were bitter, and clinging to religion, I knew he just doesn't understand small town America," Bocephus says, adding: "We love our God, and we love our guns, 'specially handed down from our grandfathers. And we resent it when liberals like Obama question our way of life. Don't be bitter, vote McCain."
The ad then diverts into a 30-second slam on "congressional liberals" -- a subject shift that makes the RNC's expenditure on the ad legal. A voiceover artist accuses these liberals of wanting to increase spending by nearly $1 trillion while "rais[ing] taxes on folks making $42,000 a year" to pay for it.
"Congressional liberals call it taxing the rich. We call it out of touch. No wonder they criticize our values, but expect us to accept theirs. Congressional liberals, out of touch with our America."
The second ad also tries to capitalize on any latent suspicions about Obama. A female voice, backed by an ominous minor-key piano melody, says, "Barack Obama says he'll spread your wealth around. Here's Obama's plan: First Obama raises your taxes. Then he spends nearly a trillion dollars on new government programs. Spreading the wealth means government gets bigger, special interests grow fatter, while your paycheck gets leaner. More for big government, less for you. Just as you suspected, Barack Obama's wrong for you."
Then the spot diverts into another attack on "congressional liberals."
The ads started airing on radio Tuesday morning, according to an industry source who provided them to the Huffington Post.