It is Politics 101: make a shady campaign move and then accuse your opponent of the very offense. In Clinton's latest debate-about-debates ad, running in Wisconsin Friday, the campaign made that move. Running negative ads are part and parcel of campaigns but this ad treads on questionable ground.
The Ad opens with "Barack Obama still won't agree to debate in Wisconsin. And now he's hiding behind false attack ads."
Obama does characterize the Clinton debate spot as ". . . the same old politics, of phony charges and false attacks" Maybe that is an attack, but hardly false; and calling his singular effort a "false attack ads" further stretches credulity. The proof is in the tone and harshness of Clinton's second debate-about-debate spot. It really is politics 101 of changing the dynamic not by discussing issues or character, but mastery of tactics and strategy.
The new Clinton ad, however, is not really about debates , but rather uses "ducking debates" as cover for framing Obama as the enemy of health care, friend of big oil companies, and destroyer of Social Security; pretty much a complete attack featuring the trifecta of Democratic "pay dirt" messages.
With these words the Obama campaign answered Clinton's Wisconsin debate spot . This post examines the Obama counter in the debate-about-debates, how it changes the interpretive frame, and responses among political blogs.
The Clinton spot has largely been described in the press as a "negative ad" attacking Obama for failing to discuss his issue proposals. It is more difficult to characterize the Obama spot.
The Obama ad is in part positive, outlining his position on health care and the mortgage crisis (claims that have received some criticism; citing their own campaign as authority) but the essence of the argument is more "descriptive" neither positive or negative nor "comparative" in the parlance of categorizing political spots. The ad's form is a listing of fact, reinforced by visuals of 18 debates; essentially there have been lots of debates, enthymatically "enough is enough."
It is, of course, more than a statement of fact, illustrating the art of response spots; more than denial and counters, a fundamental shift in the interpretive context.
The ongoing debate-about-debate initiated by the Clinton campaigna week agocontinues, turning up the heat with a new ad running in Wisconsin that chides Obama for ducking voters. The jury is out on which campaign will win this round, but the move further illustrates how debates interact with campaigns.
The unknown factor is the effect, if any, the spot will have on actual voters. Voters have lives and may not know the context privy to political insiders and junkies. The ad asks they conclude Obama has spurned Wisconsin or has something to hide.
It also may be the case that the ad will make little sense when voters are seeing Obama on every newscast greeting Wisconsin voters. Simple word-of-mouth from the tens of thousands of Obama rally attendees (17,000 in Madison alone) may reach even the least involved voter. In the age of news and more news, when candidate speeches are viewed by millions on-line, the proportion of voters who "don't have a clue" is a rapidly shrinking.
Round 3: Practical effects of debate-about-debates below
Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to debate Hillary Rodham Clinton in Austin, Tex., his campaign announced.
The event, co-sponsored by CNN, Univision and the Texas Democratic Party, is set for Feb. 21, ahead of the state's March 4 hybrid caucus/primary.
The debate is also sponsored by the Texas Democratic Party and in conjunction with the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation. The program will air live from the LBJ Auditorium at the University of Texas in Austin on CNN and on CNN International from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (ET)and will air in Spanish on the Univision Network beginning at 11:30 p.m.
Debates are always political, before and after. More below on pressure via Texas and Wisconsin debates.
With both Democrats scheduled to visit the state before the Feb. 19 primary, the question for some has become, will Wisconsin host a debate between the Democratic presidential contenders?
That appears to be up to the Obama campaign. It also appears unlikely.
Clinton's camp has accepted invitations to participate in two potential debates here. Obama has not ruled out participating, but his campaign has suggested he will not.
The Journal Sentinel, National Public Radio and WUWM-FM are trying to put together a nationally broadcast, radio-only debate tentatively set for Friday.
