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Barack Obama He Who Advises media type="custom" key="2059300"   Stated Issue

1. The stated issue in this Barack Obama campaign ad for the presidential election for the year of 2008 persuades viewers to believe that John McCain is supported by individuals who have falsely affected the United States and its population. To elaborate on the stated issue, if these accusations are plausible, Obama will draw attention to himself in both negative and positive ways. A positive outcome is accumulating votes for himself, assuring others that he is not supported by those who allegedly cheat America. The negative outcome is the portion of votes that he will use because he is undermining his opponent; tearing him down doesn’t make Obama any stronger, and a group of his votes will not support his actions in doing so.

Underlying Issue

2. The underlying issues not so clearly asserted by the video ad are questioning the population of America why they would vote for a candidate whom is supported by those who have done wrongdoing to their country. It is much deeper than the dislike of the opposing party and looking for instantaneous reasons to destroy any change they might receive in thriving in the running of President. The basis not seen visually is the well being of the future of the United States and its peoples. Why choose a candidate who may lead the country into a place of solitary neglect and irreplaceable errors. The issue is the future which lies in our hands of the country we most adore, not our favor of the donkey or the elephant.

Target Audience

3. The target audience in this ad consists of both John McCain supports and Barack Obama supporters. The ad however focuses more on the McCain supports trying to express to them that the people McCain has trusted have all made bad choices and been failures. One of the first people that is mentioned in the ad is Carly Fiorina. The ad states that she was a fired CEO and did nothing to help John McCain in his quest to make our country a better place. The next “advisor” brought to attention in this ad is Phil Gramm. He is an ex-senator that pushed for deregulation. He also called Americans that felt hurt by our harsh economic crisis “whiners”. Lastly, our president, George Bush, is mentioned, the ad states that John McCain wants to follow in the footsteps of George Bush and continue the disastrous policies concerning economics. The ad says that all of these people believe our economy is fundamentally strong, but really they are fundamentally wrong! So this ad affects Barack Obama supporters in that it is providing evidence to hinder McCain’s efforts to become president. It also points out all the bad decisions McCain has made so far throughout is political back round. This again is hindering his chances of gaining the populations trust and essentially losing their vote. This ad may also have an affect on McCain supporters, but not for the best. This brings light to McCain supporters about some truths that may not have been previously known. It also may change the mind of viewers causing them to rethink their choice for the next president of the United States. All in all, this ad reaches out to the entire public revealing facts about John McCain and who advises him, and who he trusts.

Issued or Personal ?

4. This ad tends to is more of an issued ad more than a personal ad. Although it is targeting John McCain himself, it targets issues relating to McCain’s decision making rather then attacking McCain himself. Due to this fact the ad becomes more of an issued ad in that it is selecting one main issue, McCain’s advisors, and focusing on that only. By focusing on this sole issue it allows the ad to present a more clear, factual analysis of the points being expressed.

Positive or Negative ? 5. The ad for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election was is a negative attack toward republican candidate John McCain. The ad focused on McCain’s lack of knowledge in economics, which has proved to be one of the largest issues in our society today. It also focuses on McCain’s ill suited advisors who are in fact hurting him, not helping him. By attacking Senator John McCain, Obama’s ad could also change the way voters view him as well, and it could effect affect their votes in the upcoming election in a negative way. An ad that highlighted Obama’s positive locations on such subjects could have been more effective than exploiting flaws in his opponents’. Main Arguments 6. The campaign ad for Senator Obama focused on John McCain’s faults, such as his admitted lack of experience and knowledge of today’s economy. The economy has recently been in great turmoil and is at the top of the “fix-it” list for presidential candidates. The fact that McCain seems to be at a loss when it comes to a solution to this problem is discouraging to voters and by the Obama campaign using this as a negative fact; it implies that Senator Barack Obama will be able to fix the economy crisis. Senator Barack Obama’s presidential ad also publicizes the advisors behind Senator McCain and points out their faults and shortcomings. The first advisor that is attacked is Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of a bank. The ad explains that she was fired and was given a “42 million dollar golden parachute”. The ad goes on to attack John McCain’s friend and other financial advisor Phil Gramm, an ex-Senator who authored the term “deregulation” in his bills to pass deregulation in the bank system, which has been a large contributor to our failing economy. The ad then quotes Phil Gramm’s comment of calling those hurt by the economy, “whiners”. Phil Gramm’s contribution to the current economic decline and his uncompassionate comment towards the majority of the population are all facts that are intended to exploit the voter’s emotions and hopefully help them change their mind. The last argument provided is that our current president, George Bush, is also advising McCain. This alliance has a negative connotation in the voter’s eye because Bush is being blamed for our current economic state and McCain is planning on following the route in which George Bush is on. This does not seem leave a bright future of the American economy, something the country so desperately depends on. This is the last attack in the ad and is the strongest, with the need for change in this country, the idea of Senator John McCain keeping President Bush’s plans is not what the voters want to hear. This therefore swings the voters in Senator Barack Obama’s direction.

Evidence 7. The 2008 presidential election ad contains many good points and arguments, but it lacks strong supporting evidence. After each claim it makes, it only supports it by stating one negative detail about whomever it may have been talking about. For example it argues that John McCain is not headed in the right direction and is straying even farther with his insufficient advisors. It goes on to say that one of these advisors was a former CEO of a bank and that she was forced to leave. The ad states that Phil Gramm was partially responsible for the disastrous economy and that McCain was following in President Bush’s footsteps. Although the ad brings up the mistakes from the past, that might convince some people that these people could not competently perform their duties, none of these are sufficient pieces of evidence to show any true reasonable doubt. John McCain’s choice could be poor, in that he chose advisors who lost their prestigious name and background, but that does not forfeit their knowledge or experience in their particular field. Claims Made 8. I would not entirely say that the first claim in the Barack Obama Who Advises advertisement is inaccurate but more or less does not tell the entire truth. Carly Fiorina, a recently fired CEO for Hewlett Packard advises McCain in his political campaign. The advertisement states how bad the people are that back McCain’s decisions, for Fiorina this is true, she was fired from HP for many disagreements involving her leadership skills. Although receiving many awards including the Top 25 Executives CRN, 2002 and Americas Most powerful people she is not who you would want to support your campaign. In the next claim the ad targets Phil Gramm and ex senator. This claim is entirely inaccurate in all ways. It makes Phil Gramm sound like he was kicked out of the senator position in congress, even though he served for over 13 years and successfully retired in 2003. In the final claim of the ad, Barack Obama targets George Bush and his disastrous economic plans and how John McCain will follow in his footsteps. This claim is very accurate, even recently we have witnessed Wall Street drop over 776 points in one day setting a new record. Final Evaluation 9. This advertisement for Barack Obama is effective because it states major problems with the backing of the McCain campaign. It also explains the poor economic decisions John McCain has and will make. While still effectively suggesting bad claims against John McCain this ad does not talk about any specifics or it does not say anything about the Barack Obama campaign. __ Strengths- __ -Shows how McCain is on a path to economic failure -Has a catchy ending statement “They think the economy is fundamentally strong”; we think they are fundamentally wrong.” __ Weaknesses __ - -Does not tell the entire truth about the claims against Carly Fiorina, Phil Gramm, and George Bush. -Does not talk about how successful or how good the Obama campaign is.

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R. Boselo, K. Jones, A. Watson, A. Wilson Period 4 _  “Americans…still believe in an America where anything’s possible – they just don’t think their leaders do.” – Barack Obama