2008 Primaries, Messaging • June 6th, 2008

The air war begins

by Chris Lato

Wisconsin is about to see a new round of presidential campaign ads, courtesy of John McCain. If you needed a sign that Wisconsin will be a battleground state this year, this is as sure a sign as any – TV ads in June signaling the general election campaign is here in earnest.

It’s a character piece, intended to remind people of McCain’s bona fides on issues related to war. It offers no specifics but sets the tone of seriousness with which McCain would presumably approach Iraq, while subtly distancing him from the cavalier ‘cowboy’ image President Bush’s opponents have tagged our current president with. Iraq, the word and the war, is never mentioned directly in the spot.

The unmistakable undercurrent: John McCain is seasoned and tested by experiences the vast majority of us are lucky we will never have to face…and Barack Obama is not.

We’ll see the messages Obama chooses to focus on. The economy? The war? Fuel prices? There are plenty of issues on the table in this summer of discontent.

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