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* Democratic US Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias is up with a new statewide ad buy featuring President Obama. Rate it…
ADDING: The video should be working now.
*** UPDATE *** Response from National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Press Secretary Amber Marchand…
Is this the ‘change’ that President Obama believes in? After telling Americans that our country doesn’t need another banker in Washington, he wants Illinois voters to elect a failed mob banker who loaned millions of dollars to known criminals? How are Illinois voters supposed to ‘trust’ Giannoulias with their pocketbooks after he squandered millions of taxpayer dollars set aside for the state’s college fund? How does the President propose that Illinois voters ‘count on’ Giannoulias after he drove his own family’s business into the ground, forcing the government to pay for his risky loans and reckless behavior? Shooting hoops and calling his buddy from Chicago a ‘friend’ is one thing, but President Obama should know that Illinois voters deserve more than a reckless mob banker with a thin resume of experience in the U.S. Senate.”
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 7:18 am
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Previous Post: This just in… Good news for a change
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A very good straight forward positive endorsement. I would give it an A-. It should help him solidify his base and pull some independent voters who still support Obama.
Comment by downstate hack Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 7:37 am
Can you believe the President? That will be the true test of this ad.
Comment by Justice Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 7:42 am
The products of the corrupt Chicago Democrat Machine, together, one more unpopular than the other. Alexi with his Mob ties, Obama with his Muslim taint. What could be a more winning combination?
Comment by Jim Ridings Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 7:42 am
agree with downstate hack on first sentence. but not the
second. with a 51% approval rating, re one poll
on tv, Obama is not doing well in his own home state.
I think that result shows that many democrats are having
a problem with Obama and they may not care what he says.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 7:45 am
Obama with his Muslim taint
I expect this crap on some FoxNews.com or Trib comment section, but not on CapFax.
Comment by dave Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 7:49 am
barack is unquestionably the greatest validator in illinois. i wondered if any of his comments at alexi’s fundraiser would end up on tv. now they have.
getting easier and easier to predict that alexi giannoulias will be the next senator from illinois…
Comment by bored now Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 7:50 am
dave, there are biggots everywhere. have you been to indiana?
Comment by bored now Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 7:51 am
dave, there are biggots everywhere. have you been to indiana?
I know, but still feel the need to call it out.
Comment by dave Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 7:56 am
ahh, a biggot and a smart-ass. i can respect the latter, but have no tolerance for the former. i can’t tell if you are prejudiced against blacks or religion, but it really doesn’t matter…
Comment by bored now Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 8:02 am
Sometimes it is ok just to ignore the trolls….
Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 8:09 am
“dave, there are biggots everywhere. have you been to
Indiana?”
while i strongly agree with the criticism of Jim Riddings’
statement (good riddance to his comment) the slap
on Indiana is just not right. call something out, don’t
add to the nasty noise.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 8:12 am
Very good ad. I give it an 8.5. Direct, clear, and to the point.
Comment by Don't Worry, Be Happy Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 8:23 am
Good ad visually with the Jobs messsage and clear and concise from the President. Best positive ad yet.
Comment by Good Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 8:34 am
Rating C -: Old habits are hard to break. Alexi depended on Obama’s endorsement in 2006 to win the Democratic Primary. I doubt whether Obama resonates, even in Illinois, with the positive outcomes Alexi is hoping to garner. Bottom-line: Illinois Democrats nominated an inexperienced Kid to run in a year that voters are looking for stability and vision.
Comment by Louis Howe Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 8:36 am
Just you wait until Kirk airs his commercial of his Navy commanders saying he was the bestest intelligence officer ever. Ever!
Comment by Verdicto Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 8:36 am
oneman: good point.
amalia: heh, i moved up here from florida a decade ago, and i guess the culture shock is still profound. i have a very difficult time accepting how tolerant illinois is of corruption (at least we criticized and prosecuted the drug buy-outs of politicians in dade county) and how racist indiana is, in my experience with the two states (flossmoor is pretty close to the indiana border)…
Comment by bored now Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 8:39 am
Looks to me like we are 8 weeks out and Alexi is sinking what little money he has into an ad to solidify his base. He should be way beyond that by now.
Comment by Raising Kane Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 8:40 am
Hey Rich — the video won’t play for me (it says it is a private video).
Comment by Dan Johnson-Weinberger Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 8:44 am
Refresh and try again. It’s fixed now.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 9:01 am
solid B. Can he buy enough time to get it out enuf.
Comment by D.P. Gumby Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 9:20 am
A great July ad. We will see if it is OK to be better late than never.
This will help his base. If Democrats turn out in a few weeks they could win if the money holds out.
The GOP have other Senate seats they could win over nationally. So Illinois is hot for them but not as hot as it was when Wisconsin and Washington nudged it a bit back into the pack.
I still see Kirk winning.
Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 9:30 am
Yup. Thanks.
Comment by Dan Johnson-Weinberger Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 9:31 am
If everyone is done with the personal comments and we can get back to the subject at hand…
Raising Kane is right. Alexi has soft support among Dems and is spending money to appeal to them after Labor Day using a commercial that will have a neutral to negative impact on independents who, even in Illinois, have soured on Obama in a big way. This does not denote a position of strength.
However, Alexi can rely on his union pals and the MoveOn/Soros 527 gang to mercilessly attack Kirk for the next two months, so he can tend to his base.
This is going to be close and Kirk may have an edge from GOP turnout rates and the national trend as well as his financial strength.
Comment by Adam Smith Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 9:37 am
It’s a solid positive ad, but using Obama changes is completely from being only about Alexi. I think it only helps with his base…independents and moderates have been bailing out on Obama. Those are the people who both Mark and Alexi need to win over, and I see this ad having only minimal to moderate effectiveness in that department.
By itself I give the ad a B+; adding in the political environment I give it a C. I think there were better ways to spend his money. This would have been a better ad for a primary.
Comment by Liandro Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 9:57 am
You dance with the one who brung you. For the ad itself, I give it an A.
With a 4 to 1 money advantage, where is the Kirk ad? I heard Jim Ridings was working on a script, but ran out of crayons.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 10:06 am
That is a good ad. Alexi certainly rode Obama to wins in 2006, so there is no reason he should stop there. He obviously received approval from the White House and OFA to use Obama’s footage in the ad. There are no distracting graphics, and the music is level and not too loud. If Alexi had more cash, he could have made the ad an extra 15-20 seconds and included another couple of quips from Obama. I give the ad an A-.
Comment by Team Sleep Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 10:14 am
“The kind of person you want in the United States Senate.” This last sentence from the Alexi ad stays rolling around in the mind long after the ad is finished. Not just because it is the president who says it, but because the statement is meant to provoke analysis by voters– and it WILL cause thought. Do I as a voter want to send Alexi, another Illinois senator to Washington who will vote in Congress to further and enhance the president’s current agenda over the next two years? OR, do I want a senator who will help to temper that agenda in specific cases when called for, and/or to help shift the country’s domestic and foreign policy in a different direction in those cases where it is so very clear the current direction is failing or even dangerous? Every recent poll suggests voters are trending toward the latter as they select their national representatives this fall. Unfortunately for Alexi while the ad works hard to shore up his base, it is also reaching a greater number voters who will be pushed in the opposite direction by his ad.
In a normal election year (whatever that is, LOL) this ad would be a solid A. But because it appears to so badly mis-read, (or ignore) both the overt mood of the citizenry as well as the the polls which show voters don’t like where the country is being taken, realistically one must give it a C-.
Comment by Responsa Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 10:14 am
===the statement is meant to provoke analysis by voters– and it WILL cause thought.===
Almost no political ads are designed to provoke thinking. Just sayin…
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 10:17 am
Fair rnough, Rich, LOL. I’m cynical but apparently not quite as cynical as you!
Comment by Responsa Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 10:27 am
It’s not cynical, Responsa, it’s reality.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 10:50 am
If Emmanuel joins the fray and goes for the mayor’s office it’ll be a trifecta for sure. To bad it looks more like the band playing on the deck of the Titanic while she slips beneath the frigid sea. TTFN
Comment by dupage dan Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 10:58 am
alexi is *exactly* the kind of senator i want from illinois. proven independence from the machine, and a proven ability to stand up to the most powerful men in the state. a terrific reformer, someone who came into office and did what he promised: made the office profession, brought its auctions into the 21st century, and made the state money. someone who not only cares about the entire state, but is willing to go everywhere and talk to everyone.
yep, the president’s right: alexi IS the kind of senator we’d want representing us…
Comment by bored now Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 11:10 am
I’ll give it a B. It drives the only positive message Alexi has - the president likes me. That’s still a pretty strong positive here. Unfortunately for him it also re-enforces the idea that he will be a rubber stamp for an administration that is sinking fast especially on economic issues.
Any word on how big a buy?
Comment by 10th Indy Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 11:20 am
The question is does this motivate Alexi’s base to get out and vote more than it motivates the anti-Obama crowd to get out and support Kirk? The mood right now appears to trend towards the latter.
Comment by Bluefish Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 11:26 am
i think i’d rather have obama’s base behind me than kirk’s…
Comment by bored now Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 11:41 am
But how motivated is Obama’s base right now?
Comment by Bluefish Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 11:54 am
Who exactly has Alexi Giannoulias stood up against? Mike Madigan, who endorsed another candidate, is the only one that I can think of, but that was more of an intraparty scrap over the primary nomination. I am not certain that the president has long enough coat tails to pull Alexi through another election. This commercial will be a real turn off to any undecided voters who are fatigued with Obama. If Alexi needs to shore up his support with the Obama true believers, he is in worse shape than I thought. Final Grade: C-.
Comment by Honest Abe Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 12:45 pm
With the sound off the first thing you see is “a leader ethically” is this the same Alexi as the one in Illinois? Is it supposed to make you laugh? Just because you say it doesn’t mean it’s true. D-
Comment by votecounter Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 12:58 pm
what? mike madigan isn’t enough?
most of the people i know of who defied madigan virtually had their careers ruined…
Comment by bored now Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 1:16 pm
I think the ad itself - production quality, simple message is an A.
I don’t believe that Alexi is the most ethical person. Many people are still upset about the Bright Start stuff.
So I guess content or truth in message is a D.
But then again - what ad has anyone seen that doesn’t stretch the truth a little to their advantage.
Comment by CM46 Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 3:29 pm
Visuals is a 10, content is a 6. Lobbyists as the main issue to talk about? But then again, I guess there isn’t much he could talk about with Alexi…his banking career, no…his great college savings program, no….let’s see here…lobbyists it is.
Comment by Niles Township Wednesday, Sep 8, 10 @ 4:33 pm