The year? 2013. The president? John McCain.
VOICEOVER: The year: 2013.
The Middle East: stabilized.
Nuclear terror threat: reduced.
Border security: strengthened.
Energy independence: advanced.
Wasteful spending: reformed.
Healthcare choice: delivered.
Economic confidence: restored.
The year? 2013. The president? John McCain.
JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.
3 comments
#1 Matthew Burton May 25, 2008
This ad evokes positive emotion for McCain by painting a rosy picture of the future, then putting McCain's image at the end. The goals it talks about are all good ones: nobody DOESN'T want the Middle East stabilized or better energy technology or more confidence in our economy. That is the problem with this ad. It doesn't say anything about HOW he intends to do them. Anyone can make such an ad, even those with no qualifications.
#2 Dan Phiffer May 27, 2008 (edited by poster)
I don't think it would be appropriate for a 30 second TV spot like this one to go into too much detail, policy-wise, into this many issues. I think it's fair for a candidate to outline his or her priorities, although I could have done without the whole "2013" shtick.
McCain's website, not emphasized sufficiently as a source for further research, does outline his approach to a variety of issues. But not always with satisfying results, IMO.
I would say these aren't very ambitious goals. A "stabilized" Middle East relies on a kind of wiggle word that depends, to a great extent, on the time frame and on what passes for acceptable conditions in place of conflict. Does straight talk, in this case, mean lowered expectations?
#3 Jeffrey Jun 25, 2008
Why pick 2013? In order to do McCain any good those benefits would have to have manifested during 2012 at the latest, preferably 2011 prior to the start of the political primary season in 2012. This begs the question, is it reasonable to believe that McCain (or any President) can deliver a stabilized Iraq (i.e., "Middle East - stablized") 3 years after taking office? General Casey predicts a decade IF the U.S. continues to occupy Iraq. Source: http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/14/casey-10-yr-plan/
Regarding the ad's claim to restore confidence in the economy, numerous experts note that the U.S. is already in a recession and it's likely to worsen. See the below reference for at least 3 studies to that effect: http://financialmusings.wordpress.com/2008/02/13/how-long-will-the-recession-last/
Bottom line, the available evidence doesn't support the optimism of the ad, but that's hardly surprising.