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Senator Barack Obama's $4 million-plus bought him a rating of 21.7 Wednesday night (Oct. 29) among the top 56 local TV markets measured by electronic meters, according to Nielsen. The half-hour informercial, aired at 8 p.m. on four networks, CBS, NBC, Univision and Fox, plus MSNBC and NY1. (The Nielsen data does not include BET, which aired the infomercial during different time periods.) Fox delayed the airing of the final game of the World Series by one-half hour to accommodate Obama's informercial. Only ABC ran its regularly-scheduled program, Pushing Daisies. An unusual presidential media tactic, Obama's infomercial was the first...

I've asked our contributors to weigh in on what McCain can do to turn things around. My effort is below. I should caveat by saying that this is not a happy post. Part of the reason I believe McCain's drop has been so precipitious is that we are in fact seeing is a return to the natural equilibrium of the race, which was 4-6 points pro-Obama before the Celeb ad, Palin, and the RNC. Obama's lead now is in the range of where it was when he first captured the Democratic nomination. One of the striking features of this election...

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt has released a statement denouncing the partisan Obama prosecutors and sheriffs in St. Louis and St. Louis county who are trying to suppress criticism of their candidate by threatening to prosecute anyone who releases what, in their view, is a "misleading" ad about him. (Here's my original post on this matter from Friday.) Governor Blunt rightly calls it an "abuse of law for intimidation" -- and it is, indeed, one of the most overtly totalitarian efforts to chill free speech that I've seen in my lifetime. Where are all the civil libertarians and lefties who have...

YOU HEAR THE VOICE FIRST Bob Jump's website lists him as the "secret voiceover talent" for the "Both Ways Barack" attack ad, paid for by 527 group Let Freedom Ring When Marvin Bush, the youngest son of George Herbert Walker and Barbara Bush, celebrated his 50th birthday in 2006, party planners commissioned a short "mockumentary" to entertain guests in the White House ballroom. Here was Marvin in college; there was Marvin in Texas! A prominent basso voice narrated each moment from the little Bush's life. Seated near the celebrant's mother was Rick Reed, who, when not making Bush home movies,...

Excellent ad!

There is no question that John McCain’s pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has changed the dynamic of the 2008 Presidential campaign, moved the current wave of polling to the GOP’s favor, and altered the terrain the rest of the election will likely be fought on. The Obama campaign’s ability to recognize the shifting ground, understand that it is real, and adjust accordingly will determine the outcome. And the outcome, for the first time, is in doubt. The Obama campaign went into the Democratic National Convention believing that the race would be fought out on Washington experience and “more of...

So we wake up this morning to a Web ad from the McCain-Palin campaign accusing Barack Obama of sexism. It is a swift and superb effort and, from what we know about these things and the political climate in which we live, likely to be effective. It is a quick and dirty piece of television remarkable for the jaw-dropping, breath-taking, head-shaking dishonesty on which is it based. The basic charge is that Obama called Sarah Palin a pig, and that is sexist. Nevermind that it never happened. It is now clear that the Republicans' strategy for victory is not to...

RACINE, WI - A young woman just asked Senator McCain if he'd gone back on his promise not to "sling mud" in this campaign with the ad his campaign released yesterday comparing Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. McCain responded that there are contrasts to be drawn and his campaign is merely drawing them based on substance, not style. "Campaigns are tough, but I'm proud of the campaign we're running," McCain told the crowd. "We're proud of that commercial." UPDATE: Here's the full quote, transcribed from tape: First of all, let me say that there are differences, and we...

If you're growing tired of seeing the two presidential candidates in 30-second snippets on your television, at this pace you'll be downright exhausted by Election Day, Nov. 4. In just the first two months of the general election campaign, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama already have aired more than 100,000 ads on broadcast TV, roughly 33,000 more than were aired during the same time period by the presidential candidates in 2004. Between the end of the primary election season, June 3, and July 26, Obama has spent more than $27 million and McCain more than $21 million on...

In its latest TV ad hitting Obama, the McCain campaign calls Obama the "biggest celebrity in the world" -- and in the process shows clips of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. The ad continues, "With gas prices soaring, Barack Obama says no to offshore drilling. And says he'll raise taxes on electricity. Higher taxes, more foreign oil, that's the real Obama." -snip- Obama camp's response: -snip- "...In this election the American people have a real choice -- between Obama’s plan to provide tax rebates to American families while creating a renewable energy economy in America that frees us from our...

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain will start running ads on Twin Cities TV stations tomorrow. St. Paul, Minn. — McCain bought nearly $150,000 worth of ads on five Twin Cities TV stations. The 250 spots will run through late June. It's the Arizona Republican's first ad buy in Minnesota. McCain says in the ad that he's running to keep the country safe, but he also goes through his family's military history and his dislike for war. McCain's campaign said the ad will run in Minnesota and ten other states. The ad buy is another signal that McCain and likely Democratic...

Pictures are worth a thousand words. This Google ad from McCains camp shows a visual of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a US Presidential contender (Barack Obama) side by side with stern looks: