Barack Obama is out with the first post-debate campaign ad. He goes directly after what was perceived to be one of John McCain's best lines from Wednesday night -- his proclamation that he is "not President Bush" -- and, in the process, highlights some of the more peculiar facial expressions made by the Arizona Republican.
"True ... but you did vote with Bush 90% of the time," goes the script. "Tax breaks for big corporations and the wealthy. But almost nothing for the middle class -- same as Bush. Keep spending ten billion a month in Iraq while our own economy struggles -- same as Bush."
The spot, titled "90 Percent," contains shots of McCain rolling his eyes, blinking and looking like a deer in the headlights -- as sure a suggestion as any that the Obama campaign thought they won last night's debate as much (if not more) on style as substance.
Hours after Obama's ad was released, McCain responded with one of his own: a one-minute spot in which the Arizona Republican speaks directly into the camera, admonishes the Bush years, and never mentions Obama by name.
Tilted "Fight," the McCain ad seems almost transparent in its purpose: paint the Senator as the candidate railing against Bush's record and Obama as the product of D.C. Note the quotes he highlights in the script.
"The last eight years haven't worked very well, have they?" the Senator says. "I'll make the next four better. Your savings, your job and your financial security are under siege. Washington is making it worse -- bankrupting us with their spending. Telling us paying higher taxes is "patriotic"? And saying we need to "spread the wealth around"?"