And They Keep Coming

Independent groups are vying to get in the last word before the election's over, so we'll try too. Here's a litte potpourri of last-minute efforts...

And it doesn't get more last-minute than this: Vets for Freedom just busted out with a TV ad today, airing in Pennsylvania and Ohio, channeling some veterans' anger at Obama. The ad (below) starts out talking about Dwight Eisenhower and some letters he wrote and how Obama only wrote one letter, except that's a metaphor...but the real message is that Obama only saw failure in the courageous efforts of Iraq War veterans. It ends with a spoof of one of Obama's slogans, saying, "Can we win our war? Yes we can."

Meanwhle, RightChange.com picked up a star of Republican Big Money: Bob Perry, the mega-donor who gave millions to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004. Perry gave $100,000 to RightChange's campaign against Obama and in defense of Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC). It's somehow reasuring to know that Perry isn't slacking off this election season.

Progressive Future, which we already profiled, put up an anti-McCain ad on cable that's more about mood than message. It shows images of people struggling with the economic downturn set to Paul Simon singing, "I don't know a soul who's not been battered..." When Simon gets to the lyrics, "I wonder what's gone wrong," the ad ends up on a Bush-McCain hug.

Guns and abortion -- with a special appearance by Chuck Norris -- after the jump...

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4:14 PM ET | 11- 4-2008 | permalink

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September Saw Smorgasbord Of Attack Ads

New ads and new groups burst onto TV screens in September. Independent groups bought about $23 million worth of election-oriented airtime during the month, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group. Let's take a look back...

T. Boone Pickens has been burning a hole in his pocket, if not the ozone. After he bought more than $5 million worth of airtime in September for his campaign advocating wind power and natural gas, we wondered whether Boone would go dark -- he was hit with big financial losses at his day job. Now the wondering is over. Boone spent nearly another million dollars on advertising on the day of the presidential debate last week to propel viewers to his plan.

Boone, a longtime Republican mega-donor, recently said something we never though we'd hear him say: "Whether you're supporting the Democrat or the Republican, I don't care."

Most of the other groups buying airtime tend to care a lot more.

On the left, the Service Employees International Union is the top spender in the presidential race, with $1.3 million in airtime attacking McCain on the economy.

On the right, the prize goes to newcomer Rightchange.com, which spent nearly $900,000 on an obtuse anti-Obama ad and just announced a new one. The 527 is run by Republican state legislators in North Carolina and a pharmaceutical executive who provides the funding.

The runner-up on the right is Vets For Freedom, which spent close to $600,000 on ads critical of Obama in September. The latest of the group's increasingly hard-hitting ads accuses Obama of having "skipped" 45 percent of Senate votes while managing "to show up to vote against emergency funding for our troops." As usual for VFF, the ad is worded to be about legislation -- a Senate resolution praising the surge -- rather than about the White House race. Still, the ad makes several points that mirror a McCain campaign attack ad, which was deconstructed by Factcheck.org. Vets For Freedom plans a $2.2 million national buy -- starting with heavy emphasis on California, a state that has been considered a sure bet for Obama.

You don't always need to spend a lot to get a lot of attention. Both MoveOn.org and Born Alive Truth got a big bang this month for few bucks. But Brave New Films is probably the best example. The political film company created a ruckus with an ad focusing on McCain's skin cancer. The ad was so hot it was rejected by CNN, bashed by Fox and dropped after a debut on MSNBC. Airtime cost: $5,000. Attention: priceless.

Check out Senate ads after the jump...

Continue reading "September Saw Smorgasbord Of Attack Ads" »

9:55 PM ET | 09-30-2008 | permalink

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Vets For Freedom Keeps After Obama -- But It's Not Political

Vets For Freedom has a new ad in what's become a series, playing up Barack Obama's opposition to the Iraq surge strategy. A consultant to VFF says it's a national cable buy of $400,000.

The ad contrasts Obama's assessments of the surge with those of Gen. David Petraeus. But then it seems to pull its punch. Instead of a closing line like "Barack Obama: Wrong On The Surge, Wrong On Iraq" (hang around campaigns long enough and you can learn to write this way too), the ad tells viewers to tell Obama to support Senate Resolution 636.

Huh?

Legislative and tax intricacies after the jump....

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10:36 AM ET | 09-17-2008 | permalink

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Vets For Freedom Keeps Heat On Obama

Just a week after its last ad, Vets for Freedom has a new one pummeling Obama for refusing "to acknowledge the success of the surge." That would be the troop surge in Iraq, which is Vets for Freedom's main issue.

Though the group is still careful to make the ad about a legislative issue -- a pro-surge Senate resolution -- its ads have become increasingly hard-hitting and increasingly about Obama. In July, one of its ads mimicked Obama's slogan, "Change we can believe in," but didn't mention the candidate by name. Then came an ad blaming "some in Washington" who opposed the surge, showing on-screen quotes by Obama and other senators. The most recent ad, in contrast, criticizes Obama strongly and directly.

-- Will Evans

4:29 PM ET | 09- 2-2008 | permalink

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Vets For Freedom: "I Am The Surge"

The pro-surge group Vets For Freedom said Monday that it's running a $1.1 million ad campaign with this TV spot:

"I know the surge worked. I was there. I saw Al Qaeda decimated," one veteran says.

The ad avoids the legal restraints of an overtly political message by promoting a Senate resolution expressing gratitude to American service men and women who participated in the Iraq offensive known as the surge. It urges viewers to call Barack Obama and tell him to support the resolution.

The ad was unveiled in Denver, to run during the Democratic convention. It's also going to run in Minneapolis-St. Paul for the Republican convention next week, and in the swing states of Ohio, Michigan, Virginia and Colorado, according to VFF.

Vets For Freedom has been among the most active conservative groups on TV.

-- Peter Overby

12:39 PM ET | 08-26-2008 | permalink

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Vets Group Says Surge Worked

Vets For Freedom airs an ad with veterans saying the troop surge in Iraq was successful, despite "some in Washington" who opposed it. The ad cites an Obama quote criticizing the surge policy. The ad ran in Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

-- Will Evans

12:41 AM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink

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Vets For Freedom: "Finish the Job"

Vets For Freedom airs an ad featuring veterans calling for the next president to "finish the job" in Iraq. It ran in Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

-- Will Evans

12:33 AM ET | 07- 9-2008 | permalink

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