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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > July > 11 > Entry
Eye on Ohio: AFL-CIO ‘Not Now’ ad
The ad: “Not Now,” a 30-second television commercial.
Producer: AFL-CIO’s new Union Veterans Council.
Where to see it: It’s running in Youngstown, Toledo, Dayton, Lima and Wheeling.
Script: Jim Wasser, Vietnam veteran: “Every vet respects John McCain’s war record. It’s his record in the Senate that I have a problem with. He wants us to keep spending $10 billion a month in Iraq — just like Bush. That’s money we could use to build schools and roads and create needed jobs here at home. He even took sides with Bush against increasing health care benefits for veterans. People should let John McCain know his agenda is not what we need. Not now.”
Video: The color video mixes portraits of Wasser and McCain with scenes of troops lined up to board a transport plane and in desert combat. A school bus fades into farmland and a factory scene. Then, the viewer sees what looks like a carefully posed, legless veteran on a hospital bench.
Analysis: This is the first of several ads that will be coming from labor groups dumping on McCain. In this spot, the favored opponent, Barack Obama, is not mentioned.
The spot was unveiled at a union press conference Thursday, July 10, in Dayton in the voter-rich Miami Valley. It’s probably no coincidence that Obama made a campaign stop in Dayton on Friday.
In the commercial, Wasser is dressed in a military-looking shirt with epaulets and delivers a carefully worded swipe at McCain’s image as a Vietnam hero and former prisoner of war. It’s also intended to imply McCain’s “agenda” is to keep troops in Iraq.
It fails to explain that McCain voted against boosting benefits to veterans partly because his “agenda” requires that kind of spending increase to include a plan to pay for it.
Wasser, an electrician and union member, offers a likeable, grandfatherly image.
He comes close to the same message that got retired Gen. Wesley Clark in some hot water recently: Being wounded in combat or held hostage is not requisite to becoming president.
The clip ends with a graphic that says it was sponsored by the men and women of the AFL-CIO and urges the viewer to go to a union-sponsored Web site that attacks McCain.
V. David Sartin is a reporter for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. Contact him at dsartin@plaind.com.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Eye on Ohio
Comments
By Savanation
July 14, 2008 1:44 PM | Link to this
“I rather have someone who has military experience and worked with the generals as commander in chief.”(Ethel) Ah, Ethel, exactly when and where did that happen? And to what purpose? If I remember correctly many, many Generals advised Bush not to go into Iraq and many many advised him that he wasn’t putting enough troops in to accomplish his foolishness. Of course all these Generals were forced to retire. But if McBush was getting advice and supposedly giving advice , why the hell did we do such a dumb thing and why the hell did McBush allow Bush to kill 4000(and counting) of our soldiers for no reason. Seems that the “Experience” you seem to think McBush has, didn’t do a bit of good. Mainly it seems there was no experience on McBush’s part, just the same slavish marching to his orders from the Republican party. He did try once to be decent, but then realized that he would never be the Republican nominee for President if he didn’t change from being right to be one of the boys. ” Sen. McCain is quite concerned about the economy.”(Ethel) Well, Ethel besides stating that he doesn’t know much about the economy, his chief economic advisor and best friend, felt the need to tell us that we are a nation of whiners and that just because you don’t have job anymore or maybe also no house, you should just suck it up and stop whining. But of course, Sen “Elite” McCain, with his many homes and vacation retreats and wife who spends up to $750,000.00 a month on charge accounts, wouldn’t know what it means to “whine”, would he? Ethel, are you going to be down on Fountain Square tonight to hear Sen Obama? Well, if you can’t make it, turn of Fox long enough and I bet you can find the speech on a real news station.By Ethel S.
July 14, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this
The Sen. Obama supporters seem to be more fixed on words (and now grammar). The lofty speeches should not be more important than action and experience of the candidates. I hope these union members who are also veterans will come to realize that national security is still a high priority and I rather have someone who has military experience and worked with the generals as commander in chief. We still need to straighten out the stability of that whole region and just today it looks like Afgh and Pakistan are major problems. Serving in the military is not a requisite for the Presidency, but it does show a certain commitment, experience, and dedication to this country. In that regard, I think Sen. McCain has not only served with honor in the military, he has also come home to serve for several years in the US Congress passing landmark legislation. Sen. McCain is quite concerned about the economy. He has also presented energy proposals to cover national security plans that are bold and creative i.e. offshore drilling, incentives to create battery operated cars,and and nuclear energy. Although Congress needs to do more work on CEO compensation, taxing the corporation too high will not encourage development of new jobs. There needs to be a balance here. And Sen. McCain has a fine record of working with both parties on successful legislation over many years.By TRS
July 14, 2008 11:34 AM | Link to this
Nice reflection of intellectual elitism. Hope you feel smarter now than everyone else. Isn’t it easy to engage in personal attacks and demeaning others rather than civil discussion? True, I missed the last paragraph’s comments - my bad. You insinuated the website did not attack McCain but only stated facts. As I understand the definition of attack it is intense adverse criticism and I think anyone reading the union website or viewing the ad would agree that is its purpose. How so? By taking statements out of context and presenting them in the in ways which distort. It happens both ways. I would hope even you would agree that the website does not present an objective analysis. I doubt that even the AFL-CIO would say that. Their presentation of “fact” is one sided and without balance. Your comments coupled with your assumed membership in a union reflect your support for that particular perspective. My point was that it is a one perspective based on your own personal bias. As for “Savagenation”, the reference wasn’t restricted to this post; rahter, it is a title he has earned over time by “savaging” anyone who disagrees with him. It seems you have good skills in language arts. Perhaps they would be better applied at learning how to properly debate an issue.By ohio teach
July 14, 2008 8:37 AM | Link to this
Oh, and you failed to use a comma to close your appositive characterization of me, rendering your whole first sentence incoherent. Can’t read. Can’t write. What can you do?By ohio teach
July 14, 2008 8:33 AM | Link to this
Oh, I get it, TRS: You were characterizing me as a union member and then including the other poster (Hi Savanation)using a play on his/her name to make a compound subject for your dismissive, but ultimately irrelevant, predicate. Trouble is, you omitted the closing comma for your appositive, making it seem like you had two descriptive terms, one perfectly unintelligible, for me. So you can’t read and you can’t write. I guess I’m not surprised.By ohio teach
July 14, 2008 8:27 AM | Link to this
TRS: Learn to read. I said nothing about the ad. I said the website was falsely or inaccurately characterized by Sartin as one which “attacks” McCain. But if it makes you feel better to engage in misdirection and meaningless ad hominem attacks (I have no idea what a Savagenation is, btw, though I am unionized. Last I heard, collective bargaining was legal in this country) then go right ahead, amuse yourself.By TRS
July 13, 2008 11:27 PM | Link to this
Gee…if Ohio Teach, most likely a union member and Savagenation believes an ad is not biased, then it must be biased - and of course it is, not by statement of the facts, but omission of it as the reporter noted.By Savanation
July 13, 2008 8:47 AM | Link to this
It would seem that,V. David Sartin, didn’t attend the journalism classes in not being biased in what in what he writes. I agree totally with “Ohio Teach” that stating the facts does not mean “attack”, it means doing a good job of putting thre truth where the truth belongs. “He comes close to the same message that got retired Gen. Wesley Clark in some hot water recently: Being wounded in combat or held hostage is not requisite to becoming president” So, Mr. Sartin is saying that it is “requisite”? Therefore the hero,Sen. Kerry should be President, and not the coward, Bush? I totally agree, but not because Sen. Kerry was a hero. Because he stood for what was right and Bush stood for what was wrong. Gee, that seems to be the scenario between Sen. Obama and Sen. McBush. ”By ohio teach
July 13, 2008 8:20 AM | Link to this
A “union-sponsored Web site that attacks McCain’? Attacks? Where in the site do you find anything but a careful presentation and critique of McCain’s Senate record on the issues. To point out facts is not an attack. You should be more careful with your language: either your bias or your poor grasp of the chief tool of your trade—language—is showing.