Monday, April 21, 2008

Does Obama Have What it Takes?

Chris Cillizza's got a post up on Hillary Clinton's new hard-charging campaign spot against Barack Obama, "If You Can't Stand the Heat, Get Out of the Kitchen" (via YouTube):

Here's Cillizza's take:

The ad hits virtually every possible emotional touchstone for voters from 18 to 80 -- the bombing of Pearl Harbor, long gas lines in the 1970s, Osama bin-Laden and Hurricane Katrina.

"It's the toughest job in the world," says the ad's narrator. "You need to be ready for anything -- especially now, with two wars, oil prices skyrocketing and an economy in crisis."

The ad goes on to quote President Harry Truman's famous aphorism ("If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen") -- a line being used regularly now by Clinton to cast Obama as complaining about the rules in the game in the wake of last week's debate.

"Who do you think has what it takes?" the narrator asks at the end of the spot, an attempt to frame the race, in much the same way that the now famous "3 a.m." ad did, as a stark choice about who they most trust in the White House.
I love this ad. In some ways, this one's better than "It's Three AM..."

I hope it's at least as effective: "
Ohio Exit Polls Show Clinton's Late Attacks Worked."

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