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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > June > 28
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Eye on Ohio: “Purpose” ad for John McCain
McCain ad talks about energy security.
THE AD: “Purpose,” 30 seconds.
WHERE TO SEE IT: It began airing on Ohio television stations on Friday, June 27.
SCRIPT: (Announcer): “American technology protected the world.
We went to the moon, not because it was easy, but because it was hard.
“John McCain will call America to our next national purpose: Energy security.
“A comprehensive bipartisan plan to:
“Lower prices at the pump.
“Reduce dependence on foreign oil through domestic drilling.
“And champion energy alternatives for better choices and lower costs.
“Putting country first.
“McCain.”
I’m John McCain, and I approve this message.”
VIDEO: The commercial begins with a collection of familiar photos highlighting this country’s dominance in space exploration. It fades to an animated McCain giving a speech with three American flags in the background. Next up are shots of gas pumps, oil wells, solar panels and wind farms. The spot ends with a flattering portrait of the 71-year-old McCain framed in bronze tones.
ANALYSIS: McCain deftly throws everything but the kitchen sink in this snappy 30-second clip. He invokes American innovation and technological prowess, appealing to Americans’ pride and patriotism. He highlights a problem that’s on everyone’s minds — gas prices — and promises that a McCain administration — in concert with Democrats — will bring prices down.
The commercial splashes “Energy Security” on the screen, but, of course, energy independence is inextricably tied to economic security and even national security.
The tone is hopeful and futuristic, aiming to reassure uneasy Americans.
McCain, who supports a mandatory limit on greenhouse gas emissions for the country, has proposed establishing a $300 million prize for the innovator who invents a long-lasting car battery.
Sen. Barack Obama belittled the idea, saying, “When John F. Kennedy decided that we were going to put a man on the moon, he didn’t put a bounty out for some rocket scientist to win. He put the full resources of the United States government behind the project.”
Obama, who has called for a $150 billion investment in alternative energy, attacked McCain this week for advocating to lift the ban on offshore drilling. McCain, who opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, admitted that capturing offshore oil is years away, but said the decision would have a “psychological benefit.”
A reference to nuclear power is absent from the commercial, though McCain supports expanding that industry; Obama is not opposed to it, though he’s less enthusiastic than McCain, raising concerns about cost and safety.
The commercial wraps up with “Country First,” a theme that the McCain campaign thinks it can’t overdo in light of their candidate’s heroic military service in Vietnam as a naval aviator and then as a prisoner of war for five years.
Ellen Belcher is the editorial page editor of the Dayton Daily News. E-mail: ebelcher@daytondailynews.com.
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