There has been talk in recent days that Barack Obama would get tougher in his campaigning following the September 11th détente between he and McCain. Sure enough, Friday morning the Senator released his most personalized attack ad yet.
Making overt references to McCain's age, the spot, titled "Still," calls the Republican nominee out-of-touch, showing footage of him from 1982 alongside screen shots of disco balls, a (Zach Morris-like) old school cell phone, a record player and a rubix cube. It even calls McCain out for his unfamiliarity with the Internet. And, as a parting jab, the ad uses footage of the Arizona Republican riding with George H.W. Bush in a golf cart.
"1982," reads the campaign. "John McCain goes to Washington. Things have changed in the last 26 years. But McCain hasn't. He admits he still doesn't know how to use a computer, can't send an email."
In addition to the "Still" spot, the Obama campaign released another ad Friday morning, this one more positive in nature, with the Senator speaking directly into the camera, defining change.
It could very well be that the latter spot, titled "Real Change" will be the one that airs in most places, while the more inflammatory "Still" is designed to grab the media's attention. Already, the McCain campaign is out with a response.
"What is becoming clear to the American people is the fact that Barack Obama has no record of bipartisan legislative accomplishment, no history of bucking his party and no chance of bringing change," wrote Tucker Bounds, spokesman McCain-Palin 2008. "The truth is, Barack Obama voted for $2.8 billion in corporate welfare for big oil companies, broke his pledge to voters on campaign finance and has personally requested nearly a billion dollars in pork barrel spending for his home state - making his message of 'change' nothing more than an empty campaign slogan."