Like John, I forget. Worse I didn't remember until John said he forgot.
UPDATE: Video for those of us who didn't catch it. I'm watching it now.
UPDATE#2: Uhm, I just finished watching. Wow. Seeng this campaign in the closing days is like watching Tom Brady circa 2004. The ruthless efficiency of it all is bracing. Every time there's a big moment, they come through. McCain should call his family. Out in the streets, them call it murder. Welcome to Jamrock, indeed.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
Very good. Kinda cheesy, almost like a Republican commercial, but I'm sure that was by design. I liked the imitation Oval Office at the beginning. I think it did what they wanted it to.
a bit much.
Beautifully done--positive, inspirational & focused on the role "we the people" have--not a president alone, but a president working buoyed up by the support, questions, and concerns of individual Americans working together.
Refreshing to see such a positive, hopeful message, built on Obama's professed confidence in the American people.
Now, we just need to GOTV and elect him president on November 4!
The decision to focus on the stories of ordinary people: outstanding. I thought he crushed it.
Chris Matthews is openly begging people to vote for the guy. Begging. Mark Halperin thought he did an amazing job with it.
It's up on Youtube, he hit it out of the park.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtREqAmLsoA
VOTE PEOPLE! It's on you who gets in the White House. Drag your people to the polls.
-Rhoda
I thought it was simply the GREATEST 30 MINUTES of modern American political television. Obama killed it!
No mistakes, pitch perfect the entire time, he hit all the major issues, and the individual stories (which were the best -- and most underrated -- part of the Invesco speech) were seamlessly woven into the broader narrative.
Without mentioning McCain or Bush once, Obama positioned himself as the most logical heir to ALL of working America's concerns, across all differences, geographical, chronological, and racial.
If there were any truly undecided voters left, and they watched this show tonight, I cannot imagine that they remain undecided now.
I thought it was aight. Actually, it was pretty good. The production was similar to that of his commercials and they've been pretty stellar. I liked the intergration of regular folks, and although I'll already be voting for Obama, seeing that made me indignant to do so. How can anyone vote for Palin-McCain after seeing such a thing?
I wish they hadn't cut off the personal stories so quickly though. They really did draw me in and then they had Obama interrupt it...although I suppose he had to. In any case, I liked seeing him and Biden at the live rally in Florida. I don't know how they timed that, but it was on point.
He nailed it. Production values were superb. Dare I say, he looked Presidential.
to elaborate: good production value, mostly a recitation (albeit well done) of his previous talking points, arguments, and numbers, main difference being that the illustrative anecdotes involving 'regular americans' were much longer and more filled-out. I found myself thinking that the endorsements mildly embarrassing - like i was embarrassed for barack - because they were so effusive. But that's why i couldn't be a politician. I was skeptical of the claims of his being a total game-changer upon arriving in the Ill. state senate and in the US Senate. I admire his record from those times, and i think he would have become a top leader eventually, but he is where he is today - instead of say 2012 or later - partially because of his enormously well-attuned political sense, and partially because he's just precisely the right man for the job right now, for this moment. his positive style and temperament and all the rest that we know and love about BO.
Anyway, he made his case quite well, and the whole thing looked very nice, and i imagine most viewers weren't paying rapt attention, waiting for Game 5 to pick up again etc.
I think Ben Smith at Politico was right: Obama illustrated the idea that this election is about 'us.'
Having Barack narrate was a beautiful touch, and I won't deny that I saw little starbursts...
i also like that he didn't even bother mentioning his opponents, contenting himself (and us) with an allusion to the 'past 8 years of failed policies'. That's exactly right and indirectly indicates the kind of confidence a leader ought to have.
A friend (over 50) who is not particularly political called me after the commercial. She hasn't paid much attention to the election. She loved the ad. She thought it was clear, direct, and was especially impressed that there was nothing negative about McCain.
She said, "For the first time in my life, I am excited to be voting for a candidate."
LMAO @ "I saw little starbursts."
The story of the woman with arthritis got to me. The fact that her 72 year old husband has to return to work after retirement just so she can get her meds was heartbreaking. Those people are my grandparents' age. They shouldn't still be working unless they WANT to.
And the single mom who has two jobs AND goes to classes AND takes care of a special needs child? Sheesh. And then there's the guy who was supposed to receive $1500/mo from his pension, yet only receives $300-something. How outrageous is that shit!?
If only my vote could count for five.
Since I started paying attention to his campaign I have always seen it as having to much of a cult feeling to it. I've dismissed my feelings as people genuinely enjoy him and he has always worked to make everyone aware of the job at hand. Watching tonight I saw more focus on the American situtation within the script played so far. The cut to live in Florida was disconcerting. We did not have to be reminded we were looking at him.
The live part at the end seemed a bit flat to me...the transition opened with a camera shot of a large open area in the middle of the arena, so you couldn't get much sense of the crowd. Then the crowd didn't applaud at any of the applause lines until he mentioned Florida. Could have done without the last 5 min.
Before that though, perfectly spot on. Those are just ridiculous production values. The old man putting on the Wal-Mart badge was a very powerful moment. Everyone knows someone like the people he described. The ability to bring policies down to earth is what closes the deal, and he absolutely nailed it.
One thing that strikes me as significant about tonight's show is that it seemed to be just the right message for a low-information swing voter in a swing state, as it was for a diehard Obama fan in a reliably blue state.
If you haven't been inundated with Obama and McCain commercials for the past 6 weeks because you don't live in a market that reaches a swing state, then this 30 minutes served to remind those of us who were energized by the primary battle, that our values are at stake on Election Day.
I would not be at all surprised to learn that volunteer commitments from NYC/NJ/CT Obama fans are skyrocketing for the final weekend push in PA. I'd bet the same is true all across the country.
His campaign is just so, so smart. When I heard about this, I worried that it was bit too much, over the top, etc. But, it was really well done. I'll be interested to see if anyone not already in the tank as me viewed it positively.
I didn't try to watch--I listened to the debates out of a vague sense of patriotic duty, but this was a campaign commercial. I'm not the target.
ALH's friend was the target, and it worked.
You know, my wife and I voted last week and are tired of all the political commercials and the pundits on television. We sat down intent on only watching the beginning and turning the station to America's Next Top Model (guilty pleasure... man, I would bone Tyra instantly). However, as soon as the stories started, we were glued. As mentioned previously, the story of the retired couple... a 72 year old man who worked hard his whole life... bought his home to retire but unable to do so because he needs medical coverage for his wife... man, that was heavy. And it brought home what we should be fighting for. Seriously, should that be anyone's lot in life simply because they are not wealthy?
Yo, the dude is a pro... and his campaign is run by pros... it was just pitch perfect.
Obviously Obama is my man, but what do people think about this?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081030/ap_on_el_ge/fact_check_obama_ad
Could the candidates be more up front about the budget realities? Or is it better to just say "I'll do this, I'll do that" and then scale back later?
Will people feel lied to if all the promises aren't met? And that goes for McCain as well.
What do you all think?
they went hard for the west wing finale aesthetic and hit a bullseye
Loved it! But I have no vote...
I definitely teared up at the 19 minute mark when he talked about his mom dying of cancer and said it broke his heart she didn't meet her grandkids.
Obama strikes me as really just wanting to serve his country because he thinks he can make it better. I don't get the narcissistic power hungry vibe from him at all, but maybe it's all the starbursts because I heart him...Him hugging all those people at the end? Brillllliant.
Like people have said before, if this fool can govern like he can campaign, well that is just great.
akonuche @ 9:11, one of the woman's jobs was caring for the special needs child. Still a lot of work...
Haven't we been hearing that his tax plan benefits those making under 250,000 this whole campaign? I thought so, and was thus surprised when the commercial stated the cut off point was 200,000 and under. When did this happen/what am i missing?
I liked it personally, but I'm a sucker for that kind of feel-good message.
I do think the ad reinforces what's been true all along: this election is all about Obama, whether you love him or hate him. McCain is basically just a sideshow.
In 2004, I think we voted For Bush or Against Bush. Kerry was just kind of there. This year, people are voting For Obama or Against Obama. And I think that's just the way Obama wants it.
I thought it was less than the sum of its parts. The "true stories" parts were great, very moving, & Barack's policy proposals made sense & for the most part connected nicely with the problems the stories dramatized. But the mix of true stories, random testimonials, canned Barack, stump speech Barack, convention Barack, and live Barack just seemed disorganized and not really thought through.
Aesthetically, a C+. But whatever, dude is awesome.
@ Communist Virginian
under 200,000 you get a reduction, 200-250 you have no increase
Communist Virginian (@ 9:59 pm),
I believe--though I could be mistaken--that those making between $200,000 and $250,000 will have the same tax rate. That's why he can say, "If you make less than $250,000, I will not raise your taxes one dime." Or something like that.
Fellow Virginian comrade,
I think the problem is that there are two magic numbers. 250,000 is the beginning of tax increases on income above that. People who earn below 200,000 will actually get a tax credit. Those earning between the two numbers will see no change in their taxes.
Thanks guys, clearly I am not as informed as I thought I was!
It didn't fill me with much hope. It was sorta' depressing, actually. He painted a picture where everyone was desperate and struggling. That plays right into McCain's "redistributionist" strategy.
Circa Brady 2004?
I think Obama is channeling Brady circa 2007 regular season.
It made me regret voting for him this afternoon. So gross. But whatever, people seem to like this crap.
. When did this happen/what am i missing?
the $200,000 number is for single earners.
the $250,000 number is for couples.
here
It was an amazingly effective rhetorical strategy. He hit all three of the classical rhetorical appeals -- ethos, pathos, and logos -- with full force. One moment, they were pulling heartstrings; the next, there would be an implicit ethos appeal; then, facts and figures would come. There was no one to rebut and the move to the final, live rally was genius. It moved the audience directly from the documentary aspect to an emotional "this is part of a movement" message.
I think Obama sealed the election tonight. Notice that it only rarely even mentioned his opponents -- all positive; all looking forward. A masterful rhetorical act by a party and campaign in full stride. Aristotle would be proud.
"It made me regret voting for him this afternoon. So gross. But whatever, people seem to like this crap."
You just made my night, Asher. Comment of the week, for sure. I have no idea what you look like, but just picturing Asher in the booth with a disgusted look on his face while voting for Obama makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.
What's funny, Stacy, is that my mother just called to ask if I saw "that horrible Obama thing." And she's an Obama volunteer! And yeah, I had a disgusted look on my face in the booth, but seeing Palin's name on the ballot made up my mind.
The 27-minute video reminded me of Obama's 2 books: filled with love for America, and filled with ideas about the important concerns of the day, from the economy to the war on terror. Obama has so much to offer, if he is elected next week.
The major reason why Obama is kickin McCain's ass is because he's inspiring people. Whoever inspires more wins, this ad did that in my estimation. While he showed some of the struggle the country is going thru, he also made it clear we can all make it better.
I like the Brady comparison, this ad was one of those patented Patriots at the end of a game that was close that either runs out the clock, or scores a game sealing TD.
One thing to always remember when watching things like this is we live in a country where people eat up crap like "Cinderella Man", "Titanic" and "The Notebook"
To pull off something that appeals to that audience while not totally nauseating the rest of us is a pretty major accomplishment.
What's funny, Stacy, is that my mother just called to ask if I saw "that horrible Obama thing." And she's an Obama volunteer!
You're right, that's so funny, it's a fucking joke.
You wants the Boobi Americani to vote for ya, you makes a cheesy video. I kept expecting Oprah to pop up and buy all these people houses. But it was effective, I have no doubt.
The right, even the smart-ass faction, swallows this type of shit because they know it gets them elected. As Daily Show suave as some of us are on the left, the snark gets no votes. I will say, i really wish Barack had introduced Chad Bradford as a World Series lead-in ("Chad's throwing motion causes a great deal of stress on his arm. If he's released he may lose his health insurance, and he may even be unable to drive his kids to school when he returns home to Bumfuck, Texas."
@ Asher: LOL, on your regret. You seem to be stomaching it ok.
@Just Karl: It was depressing but necessary, because that is the current reality. Until goverment can acknowledge that America is both a great AND flawed country, it will be pretty tough to fix things. Given the state of the country voters might like a candidate who doesn't just pretend certain situations do or don't exist, no?
I hope attention is continually called to the healthcare problem post election, whoever wins, because that is just some fucked up shit that is happening.
Whoa, whoa, whoa... Let's slow down before we say something about "Cinderella Man" that we don't actually mean. I am not ashamed to admit that I actually jumped out of my chair during a scene, in the middle of a movie theater no less. What's wrong with some heart-string tuggin' ever now and then?
I believe "The Notebook" is actually a carefully disguised attempt to strengthen our immune systems.
It kind of works on the old "purge" idea behind Greek tragedy, only instead of experiencing emotional catarsis you actually vomit.
5 minutes into it, I'm bored. It's too greeting-card sentimental for my tastes. Too slow-moving.
There's a great half-hour commercial for Obama every day on Comedy Central called The Daily Show.
It's much funner to watch than this weepy stuff.
E, my team winning the World Series immediately after helped. If not for that, I'd still be nauseated.
"Dear white working class. Please vote for me even though I'm black. Love, Barack."
I kid. I kid.
I'm a cynical bastard... and as Ta-Nehisi likes to say, I'm not the target audience for this stuff. So I don't know how effective the heart-rending scenes were. But I think it hit the right notes and probably played well in Peoria. I was a bit nervous beforehand that this would come off as a cheesy infomercial, but I don't think it did. This addressed people's genuine concerns without overdoing the drama.
Barack pretty much had me at hello. Or at least he had me at the 2004 Convention speech. I had my doubts about whether he was ready this soon, and he had to win me over by running a smart and ruthlessly efficient campaign... but I never doubted that he had the skills. This guy is damn good. If by some freakish disaster he fails to win, the fault will lie in the fears of the people who voted against him, not in the campaign he ran or the man he is.
Comparing Obama 2008 to Brady 2004? Apt, and sort of genius.
Keep it up, TNC. You're killing it lately.
The Atlantic have become like the Jerry West/Red Auerbach of magazines.
A line-up of Sullivan, Ambinder & TNC is like the Big 3 of Blogs, unbeatable right now.
Great stuff!
Pardon the interruption, but I think a strange old guy in Orlando just said he was glad to see diverse crowd for Obama hadn't yet gotten rid of white men like him.
What I appreciate about the commercial is that it made me angry, angry (and sad) about the unfairness of the old guy having to go work for Walmart to pay for his wife's medicine, about their having to take a loan on their HOUSE for Christ's sake, and about all the other stuff that just doesn't need to happen in a rich and civilized country. And to feel for the first time in a very long time that we might see the day when that sort of stuff doesn't routinely happen in this country--and that's why I think its more than just feel-good schmalz.
On an equally schmaltzy but far more authentic note, here's a story about a 109-year-old daughter of a slave who cast her vote for Obama.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/10/27/1027jones.html
It was very, very good. Policy choices matter, damn it. They are about our lives. And I was moved by the end when he talked about those who have stood up and sacrificed for us and what we should do to make our own change. There are cynics here and I can be hard-boiled sometimes, but that is the truth. We stand on others' shoulders and need to help others get a boost up. And Obama nailed all of it without being nasty or divisive. I hope this election serves as repudiation of the strain of politics from Nixonland to Rove to Palintology. Yes, we can.
I like the Brady analogy, but I was thinking more of Shaq playing 1 on 3 with his kids in the summer. Shaq Jr. goes for the lay up. SWAT. Get that weak shit outta here! This is my house!
As some fellow supporters have mentioned, I too was a bit unsure about this move, and tuned in with some reservations, but having just finished watching it out on the West Coast, I can give it perhaps the most ringing endorsement by someone in my (our) situation: I enjoyed it while it was on, and didn't have any strong feelings about it when it was done.
I was personally kind of let down. I get it, it reinforces the "nice guy" image especially in the midst of all the cynical and hypocritical attacks coming from McCain-Palin. But I was expecting Ross Perot charts, things like that. Obama covered the "hey I'm not scary" thing in the debates. I really think he should have emphasized that people making under 250K won't have their taxes raised, instead of just saying that 200K and under means lower taxes. Splitting hairs, I guess. I think he also should have slapped that chart we've all seen floating around that shows tax breaks for both plans at select income levels (top 1%, top 10%, 250K, 100K, 50K, etc)
... of course, David Axelrod and Co. seem to have a general idea of how to do the damn thing.
Virginian,
The story behind CInderella Man was great, but Ron Howard can'r just leave well enough alone. He takes a hot fudge sundae and says you know this isn't quite sweet enough, I think I should dump a pint of suagr over the top of it:-)
I took my time to watch the special. Most of the special felt like the early footage from the convention, which is probably a good thing for most people. For me, it was mostly hokey...
HOWEVER... the part with the old guy who has to take a job at Wal-Mart and borrow against his house to pay for his wife's medical bills.. well, that was heartwrenching. It reminded me why I'm not a smartassed ivory tower libertarian, more than anything else.
like a lot of people i am suffering from election burnout hence the lack of punctuaction or capitalization senator obama has run one of the best campaigns ever black or white or fuscia if he loses then we all lose this will be known as a loser country and may god bless us or not may we all burn in hell if after watching that infomercial documentary testimonial or not cause all people bleed the same blood cry the same tears we are all in the same boat dont hate us white folks even though you think we hate you cause you hated us first but his mom is white his grandfather is white we all are white black god is white god is black god is great god is good god is dead no wait he is awake so lord please help cause i am lost i am done with yesterday done with fear but last week tomorrow today hope yes
From a creative standpoint, I didn't quite get the repeated switching from contexts: stump speech to regular person story to convention speech to endorsement back to another regular person to Obama telling us what's what ... I think maybe they wanted us to realize that Obama has been consistent all along, and has always talking to us about real stuff that matters. I think it would have been better to leave out the stump speech segments. I also think it would have been appropriate to highlight a military family.
But, ultimately, that doesn't matter all that much. Having him narrate the American experience back to us is going to drive him over whatever comfort barrier Real Americans have. Historians are going to look back at this as one of the best run campaigns ever.
Bill Clinton in Florida with Obama: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/29/barack-bill-make-their-st_n_139109.html
1) Bill Clinton says "you guys haven't cut my demographic out yet." Probably not intentional, but I'm sure Drudge/FoxNews will be all over it, with clips from the McCain speech at the Al Smith dinner.
2) Other than that, I've forgotten how high Clintons highs are on the stump. He can mail it in sometimes, but he does what McCain tries to do a whole lot better, with lines like "y'all remember that?" Clinton does folksy pretty well.
I have no idea if this works or not. I liked most of it -
I thought, too much focus on depressing, not enough on hope, but then again, I'm one of those airy enthusiasm people, instead of the people he needs to reach, who aren't voting for him.
The stories of the people were very good. The having to work for medical coverage? The guy who is getting 1/5 of his - HIS! pension? That was outrageous for me, and Barack explained it very well.
Production values were awesome.
I hated the presumptiousness of seeming as if he was ALREADY in the Oval Office - so the beginning was a off-putting for me.
Did it make me inspired by America? No
Did it make me think I could trust Barack - yes, but I already did.
Lots of "caring for the common man", but again, I alreadythought he did.
At any rate, I came amay impressed, and touched, but not inspired. Wasn't a Yes we can" moment.
i'm an american traveling abroad at the moment: took almost two hours to download video but i finally did see the whole thing. thought it was very well done. But: i want to see the shift from end of film to the live rally; does anyone have a youtube link for just that last part? thanks.
btw, i just love this blog; when i am online i check it constantly for updates. what will all of you bloggers *do* once the election is done?
ps: i voted by mail for obama before i left the US.
On the $250K vs. $200K thing--I've seen a lot of people claiming the explanation is that under $200K get a tax cut while $200K-$250K see no changes in their taxes, while some other people say that it's a matter of single people getting a tax cut if they make under $200K, while married couples get a tax cut if they make under $250K. It's possible they're both correct--maybe single people don't see a tax increase if they make over $250K--but while I've seen links to support the single vs. married thing being part of Obama's plan, I haven't seen links to support the first explanation (although this NY Post article seems to back it up, not that the NY Post is very trustworthy).
Just to make this even more confusing, according to various transcripts of the infomercial I've seen, Obama said "Here's what I'll do. Cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year." So that would seem to go against the "the 200K cutoff is for individuals, the 250K cutoff is for families" explanation.
To add to my last comment, this page from an abc.com blog says "Obama has called for higher taxes on income, capital gains and dividends for individuals making $200,000 per year; his tax plan imposes higher taxes on couples starting at $250,000 a year." So maybe the answer is that couples get no increase in taxes until they go above 250K, but they don't actually get reduced taxes until they go below 200K? And maybe single people get no increase until they go above 200K, but they don't start getting decreases until some amount below 200K...that could explain Biden's seeming "mistake" (for which he was mocked in the NY Post article I linked to in my last comment) that a new tax break shouldn't go to the rich, but should instead "It should go to middle-class people, people who make $150,000 a year." Maybe Biden wasn't mistaken at all, but was saying that single people won't see any tax increases if they make under 200K, but they won't start getting tax breaks until they're under 150K?
They got a lot into 30 minutes. It went very quickly. I too wish we could have heard more of the personal stories, but there wasn't enough time and I thought the policy links were important.
The best part was that he didn't mention his opponents.
He was informative, positive and forward-looking.
Communist Virginia,
Senator Obama has said repeatedly and it's printed in his literature that anyone making under $200,000 are guaranteed a tax cut. If you make between $200,000 amd $250,000 you are NOT guaranteed a tax cut, but neither will you see your taxes go up.
It was about what I expected. Fairly sappy human interest stuff designed to sway undecideds.
I thought it was alright, a bit sweet for my tastes (and I'm a hopeless romantic!) but I have to admit hearing these families tell their stories both touched and angered me.
Maybe McCain can put one together and have some Fortune 500 CEO's talk about having to postpone their family's vacation to Europe, or having to pass on the new Ferrari because they might lose their yearly bonus if Obama becomes president.
"In any case, I liked seeing him and Biden at the live rally in Florida. I don't know how they timed that, but it was on point."
Michelle Obama: "We don't do 'late.'
Nice piece. But I'm getting more of an Joe Montana feeling from Obama. Regardless, the brother is bringing it.
$200,000 or $250,000? It doesn't really matter to me, I'm not close to either one.
I agree with whomever said he should have put up those charts comparing the Obama tax raise vs the McCain tax cut -- it clearly shows if you're making less than $600,000 a year, you're barely affected (I think Obama has a $1200 tax raise for those making $600,000 a year -- a drop in their large shiny buckets), and I throw up a little in mouth each time I see McCain's tax cuts those making millions of dollars per year.
That being said, I think it was effective. It's getting tougher for McCain to paint him as a terrorist loving, baby hating, Marxist who is ready to lead...yet.
And it makes McCain see so out of touch, when all he has is Sam the unlicensed Plumber.
He nailed it!
We are in a recession -- not "Happy Days". Too many people are losing our jobs, our homes, our 401(k)s. I thought he effectively struck the right tone throughout the presentation. He showed real people with real problems, and offered real solutions. I have a sister who has just retired, as well as her husband. She has rheumatoid arthritis. They own their own home. She had to endure almost unspeakable pain and go through a "progression" of pain control medicines for over a year, just to satisfy health insurance requirements - and because they could not afford to self-pay. Finally, she is now "approved" for the most effective rheumatoid treatment available. For people like my sister, Obama offered hope and perhaps a better health care system. The tone was spot on!