TITLE: “Broken.”
LENGTH: 60 seconds.
AIRING: In the 11 states where McCain is running ads.
SCRIPT: Announcer: “Washington’s broken. John McCain knows it. We’re worse off than we were four years ago. Only McCain has taken on big tobacco, drug companies, fought corruption in both parties. He’ll reform Wall Street, battle Big Oil, make America prosper again. He’s the original maverick. One is ready to lead – McCain.”
McCain: “I’m John McCain and I approved this message.”
KEY IMAGES: The Capitol and the White House are shown, as well as gas pumps with price rising. McCain is seen talking to groups of people, shaking hands with factory workers, and walking up the steps of his campaign plane.
ANALYSIS: McCain’s assertion that “we’re worse off than we were four years ago” differs from his answer in January when he was asked during a debate if the country is better off now than it was eight years ago.
His response then: “I think you could argue that Americans overall are better off because we have had a pretty good prosperous time with low unemployment and low inflation. And, a lot of good things have happened, a lot of jobs have been created.” He added: “Things are tough right now,” and cited the housing crisis, a weak economy and a volatile stock market.
He made a similar comment during a media interview in April.
Overall, McCain is emphasizing his independent streak and reformer credentials as he seeks to counter Democratic charges that he’s the same as President Bush. In that vein, the ad serves as an indictment of the direction the country under Bush and tries to argue that McCain is the sole person who can turn it around.
That’s an implicit – and subjective – suggestion that Democratic rival Barack Obama, a 47-year-old, first-term Illinois senator isn’t ready to lead.
The ad also tries to seize Obama’s message of change and cast McCain as a change agent at a t ime the public is craving a new direction. It leaves out that McCain, 71, is a four-term Arizona senator who has been in Congress since 1983.
Obama’s campaign argues that while McCain rails against Washington, former lobbyists – the epitome of Washington insiders – are involved at high levels of his campaign. That’s true. However, McCain was a co-sponsor of campaign finance reform that put limits on money, and influence, in politics.
While its factual that McCain has a record of bucking the GOP, the ad leaves the impression that he never tows the party line – and that’s not the case. McCain doesn’t mention areas where he and Bush agree, like tax cuts, the Iraq war and free-market economics.
To be sure, McCain has been known as an agitator within the GOP.
He led an unsuccessful effort to regulate the tobacco industry – and increase the price of a pack of cigarettes – a decade ago, and supports current anti-smoking legislation. He also co-sponsored, wit h Democrats, legislation that would allow cheaper drugs to be imported and that pharmaceutical companies opposed. However, there were times when McCain cast votes backed by the pharmaceutical industry.
Also, through the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, McCain spurred the congressional investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff in an influence-peddling scandal. Obama’s campaign points out that his final report didn’t advocate new lobbying regulations in the wake of the scandal.
Whether McCain will “reform Wall Street, battle Big Oil, make America prosper again” is subjective – as is the implication that Obama wouldn’t.
