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Obama's new ad - pretty good

Obama has come out with his latest ad - a two-minute summary of what he's offering American voters.


All-in-all this is a really good ad. What works is that he has a solemn tone to his messaging. Which is a wise strategy as he long ago used up any residual value in his 'hope and change' message of 2008. You'll also notice there's a lot of 'morning' imagery, which is clever because it infers that things are always 'darkest before the dawn' and the imagery suggests the dawn is upon us.

I didn't think Obama would get a second term, but Romney is doing such a horrible job that he very well might. I've always said, the only thing that will win Obama this election will be Romney.

Given that reality, the best thing Obama can do, which he appears to be doing, is merely to 'appear' presidential. Which is to say appear to be mature, rational, statesman-like and working for the benefit of all Americans.

Having said that, I still argue that this will all come down to the debates. If Romney can transform from a bumbling, stumbling candidate to a focused, well-spoken candidate with a clear plan, then Obama will have a fight on his hands.

To get a sense of how to really attack Obama one simply has to listen to Ralph Nader, who in some respects calls Obama worse than George W Bush. Keep in mind Nader is a progressive Liberal, so folks like Nader are part of Obama's base to some extent.




Unfortunately, Romney can't really criticize Obama the way Nader would because Romney himself would have done all the same things that Obama did. He would not have prosecuted Wall Street, he would not shrink the military, he would not end the wars, etc.

In fact, he would probably be even worse than Obama on those fronts. If Romney wins a war with Iran is probably more likely than if Obama wins.

But we'll see what the debates produce. While many are saying the debates will be a wash, ultimately have a zero-net-gain effect, I disagree. I think the debates will determine the winner, whoever shines will be the next president.


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