Group 2: McCain

In McCain's ad "Troops", several negative claims are made against Obama, specifically with regard to his perceived lack of judgment or experience in foreign policy. First, it is claimed that Obama has "never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan", and "hadn't been to Iraq in years" ("Troops." Advertisement. John McCain. July-Aug. 2008.).
While technically both points are true, contextually, neither have much merit. Specifically, it was the full Senate Foreign Relations Committee, not the subcommittee to which Obama was a member that held hearings on Afghanistan (Jackson, Brooks. "The Truth on Troop Support." 22 July 2008. FactCheck. 27 Oct. 2008). It is interesting to note that Obama, although not a member of a committee holding hearings regarding Afghanistan, did in fact attend one of them, while McCain, a member of the Armed Services Committee, which did hold hearings, did not attend. While also technically true that Obama hadn't been to Iraq in "years" (2006 was his last visit prior to the airing of "Troops"), he was actually in Iraq when the ad hit the airwaves. In this case, the claims made by McCain's ad are not just misleading; they're dead wrong.

Additionally, in "Troops", it is claimed that Obama voted against funding American troops ("Troops." Advertisement. John McCain. July-Aug. 2008.). The inference is made that Obama has voted to reduce funding for needed supplies consistently and on multiple occasions. This is false. Although Obama did vote against a funding bill, once, he did so because the bill did not contain language specifying a timetable for troop withdrawl. On at least ten other occasions, Obama voted for more troop funding (Jackson, Brooks. "The Truth on Troop Support." 22 July 2008. FactCheck. 27 Oct. 2008).

A second ad, "Housing Problem", attempts to tie Obama to developer and convicted felon Tony Rezko. The ad claims that Rezko helped Obama buy his home, and that he received "politcal favors", including $14 million from Chicago taxpayers ("Housing Problem." Advertisement. John McCain. 21 Aug. 2008). Again, the facts in this ad are misleading and colluded.

It is true that Rezko purchased a plot of land next to the home Obama bought, but the land wasn't purchased for Obama-- Rezko's wife purchased the commercial plot, and later sold, at a profit, a portion of the land to Obama (Miller, Joe, and D'Angelo Gore. "Rezko Reality." Rezko Reality. 22 Aug. 2008. FactCheck. 27 Oct. 2008 ). As far as the $14 million dollar favor the ad alludes to; Obama wrote a one page letter to the city housing commissioner supporting the development of an apartment project for low-income senior citizens. The project was funded with taxpayer money, and Rezko headed the development. To be clear, Rezko did not receive $14 million dollars, as is implied in the ad-- his net profit was closer to $855,000 dollars after expenses related to construction and development. Most damning to the claims made in "Housing Problem", however, is the fact that Rezko never asked Obama for his letter of support-- Obama sent the letter without any conversation or agreement taking place between the two men (Miller, Joe, and D'Angelo Gore. "Rezko Reality." Rezko Reality. 22 Aug. 2008. FactCheck. 27 Oct. 2008 ).

Some of the claims made in these ads are so blatantly false or contextually shallow that they resemble "truth" only in passing. It is obvious that these ads are meant to throw up a veil of doubt about Barack Obama, rather than clear the air. With the days between now and Nov 4 dwindling, only the most crippling political blows can be dealt. The average voter can no more trust the advertising of a politician than they can the advertising of a late night infomercial, and the closer to election day we get, the wilder the claims become.

Group 3: Obama

"New Energy"
1a) Claim: McCain will give more tax breaks to big oil.
2a) Facts: This claim, while technically true, is misleading. Although McCain's tax plan would give tax breaks to big oil, those tax breaks would be part of a larger corporate tax cut that would also benefit companies that provide alternative energy solutions and other big corporations such as WalMart.
Sources:

"McCain will give more tax breaks to big oil." PolitiFact.com. 08 July 2008. St. Petersburg Times. 27 Oct 2008 http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/563/.

"The Whoppers of 2008." FactCheck.org. 25 Sept 2008. Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. 27 Oct 2008 http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/the_whoppers_of_2008.html.

3a) This claim is designed to associate McCain with the disliked big oil companies who are generally perceived as uncaring profit machines. It does not specify that the tax breaks would be part of a larger plan because that would detract from the attempted association.

1b) Claim: McCain has voted with President Bush 95% of the time.

2b) Facts: True; McCain's 2007 "presidential support" score as stated by the Congressional Quarterly shows that this is an accurate statement.

Sources:
"John McCain decided to stand with George Bush 95 percent of the time (last year)." PolitiFact.com. 03 June 2008. St. Petersburg Times. 27 Oct 2008 http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/512/.

3b) This ad is also designed to associate McCain with an entity that the public does not like, in this case President Bush.

"Out of Touch"
1a) Claim: McCain owns 7 different houses.

2a) Senator McCain actually owns 8 different houses.

Sources:
"Rezko Reality." FactCheck.org. 22 Aug 2008. Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. 27 Oct 2008 http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/rezko_reality.html.

3a) This ad was in response to McCain's claim that Obama was spending too much money and time on his personal housing issues. It shows that this was a hypocritical statement for McCain to make, and portrayed Obama in a favorable light.

1b) Claim: McCain defines middle-class as making $5 million a year.

2b) Facts: This was a joke made by McCain (admittedly in poor taste) at the Saddleback Church presidential forum.

Sources:
Powers, Ryan. "McCain Jokes About His Definition Of The Rich: ‘How About $5 Million?’." ThinkProgress.org. 17 Aug 2008. Center for American Progress Action Fund. 27 Oct 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/17/mccain-defines-rich/.

3b) This ad uses an out-of-context quote in an attempt to alienate people, especially middle-class families, from McCain.

candidate

2000 - Bush/Gore

Candidate - C.W.
Carter vs. Ford (1976)

comparing ads

Uh, I don't know what happened to that last post.

We chose the republican ad from 1968 that used a quote from Robert Creel, founder of the KKK, saying that he supported candidate Barry Goldwater.  The ad from 2008 we chose was a republican ad criticizing Obama for being associated with revolutionary William Ayers.  Both ads use the tactic of guilt by association.  Goldwater is "associated" with the KKK because Robert Creel says that he supports him and Obama is a crazy terrorist because he has called Ayers "respectable" and "mainstream."  Both ads want to scare people into believing that the candidate they're attacking will let these bad things happen again.  Goldwater will turn a blind eye to the atrocities of the KKK and Obama will not protect the country against terrorist attacks, both foreign and American.  Immediately people think back to 9/11 when they see the Obama ad.  The 64' ad uses a haunting image of members of the KKK and a burning cross moving across the screen to evoke fear and terror in viewers.  The 08' ad uses a mirage of images of both Obama and Ayers, so we immediately link the two in our heads.  It also uses images of old newspaper clippings and still shots of the Weather Underground.  At the end of the ad both Obama and Ayers are shown on the screen side by side.  In the 64' ad neither Goldwater or Creel are shown, but the quote the narrator uses is enough to develop a relationship between the two and a negative image for Goldwater.

comparing ads

Candidate- Shelby

okay so, i changed mine.

1980 Reagan /Carter/Anderson

candidate

clinton/bush

wait, syke
nixon/humphrey/wallace!

Candidate - Andrew

1960 Kennedy VS. Nixon

candidate

reagan vs. mondale

candidate - rachael

1960
kennedy vs. nixon

Living room candidates

Nixon v. Wallace for me please!

by the way, how creepy is that girl picking flowers/nuclear bomb mushroom cloud ad?

...LBJ you a scoundrel 

Candidate-Sara

Johnson vs. Goldwater

Candidate - Rhyner

clinton/bush/perot 92'

Candidate- Jessica

Hey all,
I'm claiming Eisenhower/Stevenson (1952) for Paper 3! :-D

-Jessica

Presidential Selection

Bush / Dukakis for me.

Reading Quiz Week Six

1. What is the “captive supply” of cattle? How do the meat packers and cattlemen differ on their value and purpose?

The "captive supply" of cattle are cattle that are either maintained in company-owned feedlots or purchased in advance through forward contracts (pg. 138). Cattlemen don't really know the true worth of their cattle. Meat packers claim that they need to have their own stock of cattle to keep everything running smoothly. They also need them incase there is a crisis, like wide-spread disease.

2. What does Schlosser mean when he says “Ranchers and cowboys have long been the central icons of the American West”(136)? What is an icon? What is the icon of the American East? Of Baltimore?

Schlosser means that cowboys and ranchers represent individualism and freedom from the restrain of mainstream society. They live freely and independently because they need do things for themselves. For example, hunt, fish, and raise their own cattle. An icon is a symbol of something important; it represents something. An icon of the American East is big business owners and entreprenuers like Rockefeller. An icon of Baltimore could be Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens.

3. What does David Foster Wallace mean when he says, “Our own present culture has harnessed these forces [fear and contempt and frustration and craving and worship of self] in ways that have yielded extraordinary wealth and comfort and personal freedom”(363)? Include in your answer an example of something you worship.

David Foster Wallace means that people have a fear of the need to succeed and they're driven by that fear. People try to work hard because they're afraid of failure. They continuously try to improve and are never satisfied with their lives. People worship themselves (physical fitness), they are always worried about how they feel imperfect and they could always look better. I feel like i could always do better with my grades.

4.David Foster Wallace says that the problem is “arrogance, blind certainty, a closed-mindedness that’s like an imprisonment so complete that the prisoner doesn’t even know he’s locked up”(357). Can you explain what DFW means by this? And can you find an example in your life? In our American life?

People aren't open to new ideas because they are so set on their own. An example is politics: people don't want to try someone else's idea because they're convinced their own are best and someone else's won't benefit them.