Obama up with first general ads
Posted: Thursday, June 19, 2008 12:45 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
2008, Obama, Ads
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Obama is going up with the first general election ad of this campaign -- airing in 18 states. It's an introductory ad, as he tries to get out front of defining himself. With soft guitar music strumming in the background, Obama speaks directly into the camera and emphasizes his "Kansas heartland" values (his mother grew up in Kansas.) And yes, he's wearing a flag pin.
The 60-second ad, "Country I love," will air go up tomorrow in Alaska (!!!), Colorado, Florida, Georgia (!!!), Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana (!!!), Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota (!!!), Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia.
Alaska has voted for a Democrat just once since its inception as a state in 1959. It went for for Lyndon Johnson in 1964. In modern history, North Dakota has also gone for Republicans overwhelmingly. The last time it went Democratic was also 1964. Before that, it voted for Democrats four other times 1936 and 1932 for Franklin Roosevelt and 1920 and 1916 for Woodrow Wilson. (North Dakota first voted in 1892 -- that year, it split its three electors between Cleveland, Harrison and Weaver.)
Clinton won Montana in 1992 -- though, of course, Ross Perot was a major factor, getting 26% of the vote there. Clinton won the state by just 2.5% and lost it in 1996.)
Of note, Obama is not adverising in the NBC lean states Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, or Maine.
The script:
OBAMA: I'm Barack Obama.
America is a country of strong families and strong values. My life's been blessed by both.
I was raised by a single mom and my grandparents. We didn't have much money, but they taught me values straight from the Kansas heartland where they grew up. Accountability and self-reliance. Love of country. Working hard without making excuses. Treating your neighbor as you'd like to be treated. It's what guided me as I worked my way up - taking jobs and loans to make it through college.
It's what led me to pass up Wall Street jobs and go to Chicago instead, helping neighborhoods devastated when steel plants closed.
That's why I passed laws moving people from welfare to work, cut taxes for working families and extended health care for wounded troops who'd been neglected.
I approved this message because I'll never forget those values, and if I have the honor of taking the oath of office as President, it will be with a deep and abiding faith in the country I love.
