<p>"(CNN) After a week of bare-knuckle political brawling on the trail, it seemed Friday John McCains campaign had found religion.</p>
<p>In a Web ad e-mailed to supporters, the McCain team painted Barack Obama as a recipient of near-messianic hype and a candidate all-too-willing to believe it.</p>
<p>It shall be known that in 2008 the world will be blessed. They will call him The One, says the announcer in the minute-long video, over images of light shining from the heavens and a gospel music-like soundtrack, interspersed with clips drawn from Obama speeches.</p>
<p>And he has anointed himself. Ready to carry the burden of The One, continues the announcer. He can do no wrong. Can you see the light?…"</p>
<p>So the McCain campaign wants to fool around and have fun instead of discussing how they are going to address the energy and economic crisis? Nice to know they think politics is a joke.</p>
<p>The last time I checked, Obama has not released any good policy today. He is thinking of a $1000 giveaway, and he is going to pay for it by putting a big windfall tax on the oil industry. </p>
<p>I wonder how he is going to measure the windfall profits, do you have any ideas?</p>
<p>“Too bad it reminds everyone how old McCain is.”</p>
<p>They are comparing Obama to Moses/Charlton Heston, and if this ad is being sent to McCain supporters then they could care less how old he is. Anyway, at the rate BO is going gray, he’ll look as old as McCain by November. I wonder what kind of hair dye he’s using to get that “distinguished” look in time for election day? He is so untrustworthy, it wouldn’t surprise me if the gray hair was a campaign stunt.</p>
<p>I think Microsoft & Google make too much profit. Can we tax the hell out of them as well? Wait, why not tax Toyota’s North American arm and just give the money to GM - they sure need it. Hmmm, Goldman Sachs looks like a good tax target. Why aren’t we taxing farmers more? They are making some obscene profits.</p>
<p>I think we have a lot of tax opportunities that haven’t been fully explored yet.</p>
<p>Instead of taxing oil, how about we just tax any business with a profit margin of greater than 10%? It’s pretty clear that anything over 10% is an obscene profit so why just pick on the oil industry?</p>
<p>Not a chance. Money is just as green to Democrats as Republicans. Watching the gymnastics that the Washington Democrats are going through to get Boeing the tanker contract shows everyone in politics knows who butters their bread, thank God.</p>
<p>“Instead of taxing oil, how about we just tax any business with a profit margin of greater than 10%? It’s pretty clear that anything over 10% is an obscene profit so why just pick on the oil industry?”</p>
<p>When asked to defend his proposal on NPR, Obama acknowledged that most economists buy into the theory that you “don’t meddle in the markets.” The presumptive Democratic nominee added that he thinks the long-term solution to rising gas prices is to raise fuel efficiency standards and to spur the development of plug-in hybrids.</p>
<p>But in the short-run, Obama said that it is not “too much to ask” for oil companies to “give a little back” to make sure that “not just drivers but senior citizens on fixed income are going to have the ability to pay for heating this winter.”</p>
<p>He wants the oil companies to give something back.</p>
<p>I agree with dmd77 – this ad is going to boost Obama. What the McCain ad people seem to forget is that the visuals are what stick with people – and “subtle” doesn’t work all that well. I found it rather odd that there were a bunch of visuals showing Obama in front of enthusiastic crowds, and then ended with the message, “Is he ready to lead?” If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then this guy sure looks like a leader. And I don’t even want to venture to guess at the long term subliminal effect of the message – I’m not sure that sarcasm has the emotional resonance to stick in the mind as long as the strong imagery of the stirring words and cheering crowds.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I have a sudden desire to put together a mock commercial on YouTube with the same ending slide - “Is he ready to lead?” right after a picture of the apple sauce tumbling down in the grocery store aisle behind McCain. Might be kind of fun). </p>
<p>I read that McCain spent 1/3 of his entire television advertising budget to run the “celeb” ad with Paris Hilton. </p>
<p>Meanwhile… I received a very nice “thank you for your support” video from David Plouffe today. Apparently all this negative campaigning from McCain is driving a lot of $$$$ over to Obama – I honestly don’t think there’s any more effective fundraising tool that something that gets the supporters feeling ticked off. My guess is that the Obama campaign is quite happy right now with the July 31st fundraising numbers and the help from the McCain camp in pushing those up.</p>