Obama Spending on Attack Ads Soars

bostonherald.com ^ | July 14, 2012 | Staff

[BarnacleCenturion]

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s campaign has spent nearly $100 million on television commercials in selected battleground states so far, unleashing a sustained early barrage designed to create lasting, negative impressions of Republican Mitt Romney before he and his allies ramp up for the fall.

In a reflection of campaign strategy, more than one-fifth of the president’s ad spending has been in Ohio, a state that looms as a must-win for Romney more so than for Obama. Florida ranks second and Virginia third, according to organizations that track media spending and other sources.

About three-quarters of the president’s advertising has been critical of Romney as Obama struggles to turn the election into a choice between him and his rival, rather than a referendum on his own handling of the weak economy. Obama’s television ad spending dwarfs the Romney campaign’s so far by a margin of 4-1 or more. It is at rough parity with the Republican challenger and several outside GOP-led organizations combined. They appear positioned to outspend the president and his allies this fall, perhaps heavily.

[rusureitflies?]

3 folks one lady two men .,, OB for America showed up at my door today with a clipboard.., I got hot... told them he was the worst thing that ever happened to America... some other choice verbage... I feel like my property has been violated.. I do believe they were paid shills..

[nathanbedford]

We are now past the Fourth of July and running up to the convention. Obama is attempting to steal the march on Romney by defining him through negative ads. So far he is having success, but limited success.

I have no doubt that Romney has been busy raising money, organizing, planning the convention, and fixing on a vice presidential running mate. All of these are absolutely vital and necessary but I cannot believe that with his recent successes in raising money Romney cannot spare some resources to effectively combat Obama's negative ads, at least in the swing states.

I believe that is always cheaper to persuade then it is to un-persuade and Romney is courting the danger of being defined by Obama. It is always easier to persuade than un-persuade because the ego of the voter becomes involved once he has stated his position.

I agree with the posters who point out that Obama has not been able to gain a significant success with these ads but it might be that Obama's whole strategy is merely to stay close enough to make an October surprise effective. It goes without saying that if he can stay close enough the Democrats can steal it.

I want this election to be an utter repudiation of Obama. I'm afraid that Romney is not interested in conducting a crusade, he wants to conduct a campaign. I believe Obama must be repudiated in order to protect the conservative brand against the demographic wave which will be breaking against us in 2016 and 2020, not to mention the by-elections between now and 2020.

We must demonstrate the terrible state Obama has put the nation in. We must utterly destroy the myth that this is George Bush's economy, we must definitively label the threat of Islamism, we must remake our international alliances, we must protect our military and we must make secure our military position in space.

Above all, we must indict and convict Obama of his Marxism, his black liberation anti-Americanism, his lies and his deceits. We must prove that the condition of the country is the direct and proximate result of Obama's ideology.

Romney is not interested in my crusade he is interested in the limited purpose of winning a campaign. In this, if I have rightly apprehended the man, he reminds me too much of George Bush whose mother, incidentally, in another thread is quoted as praising the father-son like intimacy between Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush.

The only safe and long-lasting campaign strategy is to morally destroy Barak Hussein Obama -advice freely given to John McCain in 2008 which was blithely ignored to his regret.

[COBOL2Java]

What wrist action!

[Gator113]

Jump, jump, jump....

[oldbrowser]

Obama can't beat anybody (except McLame) without cheating.

Obama is a pigeon, the real opponent is the MSM.

[q_an_a]

that is the idea that is sinking in to the MSM amd the libitards...yahoo

[relictele]

more than one-fifth of the president’s ad spending has been in Ohio

THIS is why the media keep skewing their polls and declaring this or that state to be 'in play.' TV, radio and newspapers lapping up the campaign dollars.

[Humbug]

Obama is a pigeon, the real opponent is the MSM.

That's my feeling as well. Obama without the corrupt media championing him would never even have beaten McCain. But Obama with the corrupt media is always going to be tough to beat, no matter who is going up against him.

To me the importance of this campaign is not just getting Obama and his lefty friends out of the White House, but also defeating the media. For if they continue to get away with propping up one side and tearing down the other, then we'll always be subject to them and they will essentially hold the keys to the real power in the country.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Obama Spending on Attack Ads Soars

Stonewalling by wire service journalism of the fact that the POTUS is lying through his teeth: Priceless.

[nolongerademocrat]

I honestly believe that Obama blackmailed McCain in some way. It was just so weird the way that Obama kept saying “Double-down” during the campaign. I also read there were rumors that McCain had a gambling problem. I think that Obama was using the phrase as a repeated threat to McCain.

[Eleutheria5]

If medicare and medicaid are cut...

Lies do win quite often.

[Gene Eric]

The squall of the degenerate Marxist.

[bert]

I was in Cleveland this week and it seemed the Outsourcing commercial was on pretty much non stop.

Good thing I guess. In one week I saw only two Obama/biden bumpers stickers

[Gabrial]

There is a huge billboard on I35 northbound between Austin and Dallas that has a picture of the First Gay President on it and the following words:

“BANKRUPT AMERICA
YES WE CAN”

[CountryClassSF]

And what’s Willard’s response? “Obama’s a nice guy” or “That’s just not true.”

No fighting back, no aggression. This guy reminds me so much of Bob Dole, in both stature/mannerisms and campaign style.

The Romney people really need to step it up if they want to win. We don’t win against Chicago thug politics by playing defense!

[Monorprise]

Of course it seems obvious how Mitt and our “527’s” need to counter attack. We simply have to paint Obama as a untrustworthy lier by using his own history as president and deceitful campaign against Mitt Romney.

If nobody can trust Obama nothing he can say will mean anything.

[mandaladon]

Senator Barack Obama, 2008 acceptance speech at the DNC: “Because if you don’t have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters. If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things.”

[Carry me back]

His campaign is desperate. They must be losing big.

[thecodont]

Some of it, like making fun of Mitt for singing America the Beautiful, will backfire. They always over-reach.

Exactly. There are more patriotic Americans that they've reckoned for and they will not respond well to these ads: even in the "deep blue areas" there are still people who fly American flags outside their homes and put them on their vehicles.