Children?, the Clinton?s campaign latest ad, is fear-mongering at its finest. The indigo light of the moon falls on the cherubic faces of slumbering children. ?It?s 3:00 am, and your children are safe and asleep,? says a deep male voice, ?There?s a phone in the White House and it?s ringing. Something?s happening in the world.? Then, the twist: ?Your vote will decide who answers that call. Whether it?s someone who already knows the world?s leaders. Knows the military. Someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world. It?s 3:00 am and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?? An image of Hillary Clinton in smart-lady glasses appears on screen. As you can see, Clinton is obviously prepared to protect you.
Clearly, ?Children? is absurd. Despite what Clinton may claim, there?s no reason to suspect she?d keep America any safer than Barack Obama will. Simply living in the White House does not make you a foreign-policy expert. Whatever security cred Clinton does have comes from casting votes early in her Senate career that were meant to keep Republicans from calling her ?liberal?or dovish?like her vote to authorize the war in Iraq.
Clinton?s new spot is a seamless blend of two devious classics?Lyndon Johnson?s 1964 ?Daisy? [hyperlink], which also employs the same line of reasoning, and Walter Mondale?s 1984 sequel ?Red Phone? [hyperlink].
In response, Obama plays the judgment card: ?We?ve seen these ads before. They play on peoples? fears to scare up votes… Well, it won?t work. Because the question is not about picking up the phone. The question is, what kind of judgment will you make when you answer? We?ve had a red phone moment. It was the decision to invade Iraq. Senator Clinton gave the wrong answer. George Bush gave the wrong answer. John McCain gave the wrong answer.?
Ad Hawk
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