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George Santayana had irrational faith in reason - I have irrational faith in TV.
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Monday, November 3, 2008
Paul Simon's "American Tune" for Obama
Here is another beautiful Obama commercial.... from Progressive Future, with Paul Simon's "American Tune" the only haunting, so true sound...
Good god, this is a depressing ad. I mean, it's beautiful and all, especially the soundtrack, but I think that I would have preferred a bit more uplift and hope in the middle of the commercial (e.g. the baseball scene) rather than the quick reversion to negative imagery. After all, wasn't "hope" a key part of Ombama's (as my 2-year-old daughter calls him) message? Where's the hope in this ad? As far as I can tell, it's the avoidance of Bush-McCain redux, as suggested by the (somewhat unnecessary) pic of the two near the end. Obviously, this plays into the whole narrative that Ombama is selling about the state of the country, but one problem with Democrats (as reflected in Gephardt's notorious "midnight in America" comment years ago) is their difficulty with drawing on the innate optimism of the American people. Ombama is better at this than most Democrats, and seems to share that quality with Reagan (who you could disagree with, but could make you feel good about being an American.) But this ad, while lovely and moving in atmosphere, doesn't reinforce that strength of Ombama, rather it makes me think of the Democrats' weakness on this front. That's just my two cents, although I'm voting for the guy (at the instruction of my 2-year-old daughter). Cheers, Mark
Perhaps you're right, Paul, but this commercial, for all of its grace, just doesn't make me happy. And I, as a voter, want to feel happy about who I'm voting for rather than morosely trudging to the polls and pulling the lever, with a forlorn expression, for my candidate. This commercial just doesn't do that for me. Instead, once I get past the appeal of the soundtrack, it just depresses me.
Note, however, that I'm still an Obama booster. Just not because of this commercial. Cheers, Mark
Great commercial.
ReplyDeleteGood to have your comment, Chelle - welcome to Infinite Regress!
ReplyDeleteGood god, this is a depressing ad. I mean, it's beautiful and all, especially the soundtrack, but I think that I would have preferred a bit more uplift and hope in the middle of the commercial (e.g. the baseball scene) rather than the quick reversion to negative imagery. After all, wasn't "hope" a key part of Ombama's (as my 2-year-old daughter calls him) message? Where's the hope in this ad? As far as I can tell, it's the avoidance of Bush-McCain redux, as suggested by the (somewhat unnecessary) pic of the two near the end. Obviously, this plays into the whole narrative that Ombama is selling about the state of the country, but one problem with Democrats (as reflected in Gephardt's notorious "midnight in America" comment years ago) is their difficulty with drawing on the innate optimism of the American people. Ombama is better at this than most Democrats, and seems to share that quality with Reagan (who you could disagree with, but could make you feel good about being an American.) But this ad, while lovely and moving in atmosphere, doesn't reinforce that strength of Ombama, rather it makes me think of the Democrats' weakness on this front. That's just my two cents, although I'm voting for the guy (at the instruction of my 2-year-old daughter). Cheers, Mark
ReplyDeleteThe hope is the vote today for Obama.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you're right, Paul, but this commercial, for all of its grace, just doesn't make me happy. And I, as a voter, want to feel happy about who I'm voting for rather than morosely trudging to the polls and pulling the lever, with a forlorn expression, for my candidate. This commercial just doesn't do that for me. Instead, once I get past the appeal of the soundtrack, it just depresses me.
ReplyDeleteNote, however, that I'm still an Obama booster. Just not because of this commercial. Cheers, Mark
I guess different strokes, Mark.
ReplyDeletePeace be with you.