Earlier in the week I expressed frustration over the fact that the Romney campaign and their partners at the RNC had produced two excellent web ads, but wouldn't cough up the cash to air them anywhere. A Republican source emailed me to spell out a few factors that affect these sorts of decisions: "As we get closer to November, the campaign will run ads whether they are from the candidate or are hybrid ads with [the RNC]. Because the playing field gets smaller the closer we get to the election, you see a lot of Super PACs up now and with early voting, etc, they are realizing there is value in starting to message early." Translation: It makes more financial sense to let outside groups drop lots of cash at this stage, even though official Republican organizations and campaigns can't direct the messaging. With all that in mind, here is a new spot from the policy arm of Karl Rove-aligned Super PAC American Crossroads, which will air in ten swing states:
Very good. By demonstrating that Obama has already demolished some of his most recognizable pledges, conservatives can pre-emptively cheapen and undermine the torrent of new promises he'll inevitably make over the next six months. The ad also hits Obama on issues that generally don't poll well for him: Taxes, Obamacare, and deficits. The group will spend $8 million to air this ad in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia within the next two weeks. They're slated to add $17 million to their media campaign over the next month, matching the Obama campaign's announced expenditures. I'll leave you with the latest analysis from Gallup:
Some six months before voters head to the polls to choose the next president of the United States, Gallup finds several indicators of the economic and political climate holding steady at levels that could be troublesome for President Barack Obama. According to Gallup polling in early May, Obama's approval rating is below 50%, Americans' satisfaction with the direction of the country is barely above 20%, and the economy remains a dominant concern. Comparing today's economic and political ratings with those from previous years when presidents sought re-election reveals that today's climate is more similar to years when incumbents lost than when they won.
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This is why the demagoguery train will chug along and a record clip through early November. To quote our Vice President, gird your loins, America.
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