1. - corvax - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 9:54 am:

   Good visuals, I agree, but I’d love to see the research behind focusing on this issue, which seems to pit her squarely against the President’s plan. A significant minority, if not a majority, of female and African American voters for immediate pull-out, which could amount to a winning coalition in a race against a bunch of white guys?




2. - anon - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 9:55 am:

   Not bad, but nobody’s ads come remotely close to Alexi’s ads. The Hart Marx stuff is powerful. While Cheryl and Hoffman will talk about creating jobs, Alexi has proven that he knows how to save them. This election will be about jobs, and Alexi is light years ahead on this issue.




3. - shore - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 9:56 am:

   I rate the ad an F. She could easily be the worst candidate of the year, and there’s A LOT to choose from on my side.

   the last line is dumb. the troops get honored by winning, she wants to lose. she makes promises that are ridiculous-that if we brought the troops home we could fund health care for 20 million people. I don’t think if we brought the troops home tomorrow those appropriations would be transferred to scholarships.

   The house is on fire, because of her former boss-not mentioned. The only good thing about this ad is that some on the left might buy it and then she’ll get crushed by kirk.




4. - OdysseusVL - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:00 am:

   It is sort of creepy how she never moves her arms. As Corvax noted, the message is interesting. She’s running for Barack’s seat, and she’s running against Barack’s plan. That doesn’t seem to have a great deal of appeal for most Illinois Dems.

   The ad may appeal to the far left though, so I give it a D.




5. - VanillaMan - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:01 am:

   Uh…
   She just isn’t my cup of tea. I don’t agree with her message, her background, her style or her chances in the General.

   But that’s would be OK if I could find something about her I could respect, and so far, I haven’t found that.

   I’d rather have Kirk than Jackson.




6. - Fan of the Game - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:03 am:

   She looks good.
   She sounds good.
   I don’t understand how her message, which seemed disjointed, gets her the nomination.




7. - WOW - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:09 am:

   Don’t agree with the message one bit but given the fact that the campaign beleives that $10K is gonna get this ad on TV then I am not worried that she will sway many voters with it.




8. - Moving to Oklahoma - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:10 am:

   I don’t think I am the only one tired of seeing candidates sitting in offices. That aside, the Alexi ads are, as anon 9:55am said, are much more powerful. Cheryl is not ready for prime time.




9. - Easy - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:11 am:

   Everyone always talks about how moderate republicans move to the right in a primary. This is the best evidence of a democrat pandering to their most liberal base voters.

   I guess she believes a large portion of the AA vote plus the hippies will get her across the 35% threshold. we’ll see.




10. - wordslinger - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:17 am:

    Given that she’s going for Obama’s old seat, Jackson has produced a very bold ad. The president is escalating in Afghanistan, she says it’s time to get out. Talk about independence.

    The ad looks great and she has a simple message, delivered soberly and reasonably, that resonates a lot more widely than some people might think.

    Democracies and free peoples aren’t constituted for open-ended armed conflicts with ambiguous goals. The Weinberger/Powell doctrines recognized and addressed that very clearly.

    I have friends on the left who say get out, period. I have friends on the right who say “nuke ‘em” and get out. All across the spectrum, the desire to get out one way or another is very strong. The cost in blood and treasure is too great, the benefits not all that clear.

    I give it an A.




11. - Justice - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:23 am:

    I guess if you want to separate yourself from the pack you pound on an issue that is probably fourth or fifth on the list of domestic needs…..something no one else is talking up. As I see it jobs,education, and health care are the real issues at present, and maybe, just maybe getting our finances in order.

    We have already made a commitment to stay in Afghanistan a bit longer and are steadily pulling back from Iraq. Perhaps she hasn’t seen that information or is using this ad a a “told you so” in a couple of years. Of course she will need to get elected first and I sure do not see this ad helping. She just doesn’t give ma a comfortable feeling that she is the one.




12. - Whatever - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:34 am:

    I was waiting for the tag line, “What’s she thinking?”




13. - Chicago Cynic - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:37 am:

    I get the positioning though I find it hard to believe that it is a winning position to essentially campaign against the president on the president’s issue in the president’s state. Maybe she thinks this will help with her flagging numbers among women.

    Also, don’t like the trombone video style. But she looks good on camera.




14. - Chicago Cynic - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:39 am:

    Also, I was dumbfounded that she would put those goal numbers out. If they raised $10,000 per week, they’ll have 100,000 to spend. Ummmm, don’t think that’s gonna get it done. The numbers show astonishing weakness.




15. - TTL, III - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:41 am:

    Wordslinger must have had some bad wheaties for breakfast. This ad is terrible both on style and substance. And the fundraising email is an embarrassment. Cheryle is proving yet again, in the style of showing up 15 min late to the Tribune ed board, that she’s not a serious candidate. Oof.




16. - dupage dan - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 10:43 am:

    This ad looks like the sole purpose is to create controversy. It may be that she has other issues but this ad makes her look like a single issue candidate - a non-starter.




17. - Conservative Veteran - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 11:02 am:

    Since the wars protect us from terrorists, we can’t afford to not fight the wars. I was in the navy for 21 years, including six months near Baghdad. While I was there, I rarely heard the marines complain about being there. After I returned to the U.S., I’ve heard many people, who haven’t served, in the military, complain about the wars.




18. - 47th Ward - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 11:03 am:

    Jackson’s strategy seems to be capturing the lakefront liberal, anti-war wing of the party to add to her presumed advantage withing the African-American community. I think that’s her best shot, and this ad is clearly designed aimed to grab the attention of a significant chunk of likely Dem primary voters that neither Hoffman or Giannoulias is speaking to.

    Good ad, 9/10.




19. - Anon - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 11:10 am:

    For a women running against the “rich white men” all I see is a really nice suit in a really nice office on Michigan Ave.




20. - wordslinger - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 11:14 am:

    47th, I’d add that the spot is a direct-appeal to national anti-war money and the support of national anti-war pundits, not all of whom could be described as liberal (George Will, Pat Buchanan).




21. - Chicago Cynic - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 11:14 am:

    47,

    9/10? Really? Are you on crack?




22. - Chicago Cynic - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 11:15 am:

    WS,

    Somehow I don’t think those national folks will be terribly helpful in raising money or attracting votes in the Dem primary.




23. - Vote Quimby! - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 11:23 am:

    ==direct-appeal to national anti-war money==

    True, then they ask to see her resume and see the word Blagojevich. NEXT!




24. - Chicago Cynic - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 11:25 am:

    Quimby, you are dead on. What goes after the comma, former Blagojevich press secretary, is a killer. No way around it.




25. - 47th Ward - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 11:30 am:

    Cynic,

    It not so much the crack, but I probably shouldn’t have drank all that cough syrup this morning…

    My earlier typos notwithstanding, what I meant to say is this: The only path for a Jackson victory is to build a coalition of lakefront liberals and African American voters. My guess is she’ll run ads on black radio and campaign heavily in AA wards/townships. But her TV strategy needs to be aimed at the anti-war crowd, a group that is up for grabs, will surely vote, and is one that neither Giannoulias nor Hoffman are reaching out to. Whether that’s enough is one thing, and whether she’ll have the resources is still an obvious question, but I think the strategy is sound.

    If she starts to move in the polls, then maybe Giannoulias hits her on her anti-Obama message. But unless that happens, there are a lot of liberals who aren’t too happy with the incremental, centrist approach Obama is taking in the WH (see public option/Afghan surge). How large this block is depends on a lot of factors, but spend more than 5 minutes on Daily Kos and you’ll see that going anti-Obama isn’t a bad strategy for picking up liberal support.




26. - Chicago Cynic - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 11:41 am:

    On that I agree 47. I actually don’t think it’s a bad strategy. It’s just kind of reckless and irresponsible. But that wasn’t Rich’s question. Still, I just don’t think the ad itself is that good. 6/10, maybe.

    And I guess I’ll find out whether you’re on crack in about 45 minutes anyway.




27. - 47th Ward - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 12:09 pm:

    Cynic,

    Another crack about my crack habit and you’ll be buying lunch!




28. - Gregor - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 12:46 pm:

    Jackson’s strategy seems to be that since she’s not strong on actual state and district issues and has little in the way of a track record, it is easier to try to put the focus on a war that’s already scheduled to be “over” in Obama’s last speech.

    Her unsaid implication in the ad is that there will be a “peace dividend” to spend on the lower-class in that district after the wars are done; hospitals schools, health care… not really about infrastructure, those are all code words for more entitlements to bribe her district’s voters. A trick she knows well from hyping her former Boss Blago’s charlatan un-funded health care expansions.

    I really doubt there will be much of a “Peace Dividend” off these wars. The deficits are too large. After the wars are done, we’ll still be paying off the bills for a long time.




29. - Anon - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 1:44 pm:

    The add just seems…I don’t have a word for it. Weak, really. I mean who’s doing her messaging? As someone from the Urban league, she is in the best position to talk about jobs jobs jobs jobs jobs for women, for minorities, for communities. She has a natural platform on economic development and at a time when this whole race is gonna be about the economy….why is she saying anything about Iraq and Afghanistan? Weak and doesn’t play to what she should be working into a a natural strength.




30. - Obamarama - Friday, Dec 18, 09 @ 3:11 pm:

    ===The add===

    There it is again.

    Two things that I cannot get past re: Cheryle
    1. Meeting her/hearing her speak in person. Her public speaking lacks charisma, inspiration, better-than-average articulation, and depth beyond a Poli Sci 101 course. Bad for stumps, rallies, debates, and dialing for dollars. And speaking of dollars…

    2. I hope that $10,000 number was a typo. She is going to need to raise more than that every DAY to make any kind of serious run at this nomination based on her polling numbers and her campaign’s inability to… ok just their inability in general.

    I never had the highest hopes or expectations for her in the first place but figured that she would be able to put together a better showing than this. Silly commercials, unprepared and late for the Trib debate, and lackluster fundraising makes her less of an also-ran and more of a sorta-ran.

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