Obama puts DHL issue to TV ad
Posted: Friday, August 15, 2008 1:25 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Ads
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
We noted last week the Obama radio ad on the DHL Air Park jobs losses, which has become a salient local issue. That ad hit McCain and campaign manager Rick Davis for their roles in helping foreign-owned DHL buy the space.
Now the Obama campaign has polished it up and put it to pictures with a TV ad. The effectiveness of this ad is in putting locals' voices behind the blame, instead of an announcer.
But the ad holds the same basic premise, so we point you back to our analysis of the radio ad:
"It's true that, as the Cleveland Plain Dealer pointed out..., 'In 2003, Davis lobbied the Senate to accept the proposal by DHL to buy Airborne Express for $1.05 billion. Airborne Express at the time ran the airport and package-sorting facility in Wilmington.'
"But is that a smoking gun? Not exactly. The Plain Dealer also pointed out that the acquisition 'resulted in expansion, not retraction' and 'several Wilmington civic leaders said that what happened in 2003 created an economic gain for their community, lasting several years.'" ...
"[C]an McCain and Davis really be held responsible for job cuts five years later after the initial acquisition created growth for the town? And would an American company really have acted any differently if it found a way to cut cost to keep steady or increase profit?"
Here's the script for "Punch":
Chris Fisher: If DHL -- if something happens -- it’s going to be like a ghost town. Ed Rutherford: I thought I was doing a good job providing for my family. And to have that taken away.
ANNCR: In Washington, John McCain helped pave the way for foreign-owned DHL to take over an American shipping company. McCain’s campaign manager was lead lobbyist for the deal. Now, thousands of Ohio jobs at risk.
Ed Rutherford: It’s tough times. When it’s a foreign entity, coming in and sucker punching us. That’s how this felt.
Barack Obama: I’m Barack Obama and I approved this message.