Obama hasn't given up on Georgia, has a custom attack ad up in Atlanta

[Lunar]

Link: "Never"

”It was one of Washington’s biggest scandals. And the Republican power broker Ralph Reed was in the middle of it. In deep with convicted felon and lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

“But when the Senate investigated, the senator in charge never even called Reed to testify….And that senator? John McCain. And who’s now raising money for McCain’s campaign? Ralph Reed. For 26 years in Washington, John McCain’s played the same old games. We just can’t afford more of the same.”

Though the message is obviously different, the McCain-Reed ad appears to fit into the context of this New York Times story from today:

Senator Barack Obama has started a sustained and hard-hitting advertising campaign against Senator John McCain in states that will be vital this fall, painting Mr. McCain in a series of commercials as disconnected from the economic struggles of the middle class.

Mr. Obama has begun the drive with little fanfare, often eschewing the modern campaign technique of unveiling new spots for the news media before they run in an effort to win added (free) attention. Mr. Obama, whose candidacy has been built in part on a promise to transcend traditional politics, is running the negative commercials on local stations even as he runs generally positive spots nationally, during prime-time coverage of the Olympics.

By way of background, when the Senate Indian Affairs Committee chaired by McCain was looking into the Abramoff affair, whether to call Reed to testify was hotly debated among Republicans on the committee. The decision not to do so was based on the belief that Indian tribes were not defrauded by Reed’s actions. The tribes got what they paid Reed for — armies of Christian opponents to nearby gambling operations that would cut into the tribe’s business.

One Republican insider privately said that any fraud Reed committed was against the Christian troops whom he rallied — without informing them who was paying the bill. That wasn’t the business of the Indian Affairs Committee, the insider said.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/08/20/obama_campaign_set_to_release.html

[Lunar]

Going sharply negative in other states creates an interesting situation for McCain.

He can:

1) Respond to it in the media but not by running ads.  This creates a media buzz around the story, net loss for McCain
2) Run counter-ads in Georgia like he would for a swing-state.  This would be costly and possibly generate a story about how he's forced to defend Georgia.
3) Ignore the accusations.  This would mean that Obama's claims can possibly sit there and become facts in a few months.

Unfortunately for Obama, the ad is kind of bureaucratic and crappy.  But they have the right idea there - going after McCain's strengths: his integrity and character.

What Obama really wants is for McCain to publicly cut his ties with Reed - creating a small buzz.

[Lunar]

Who is Ralph Reed?  I think I've heard of this Abramoff character before.

I have to wonder if this ad isn't aimed at the media more than anyone else for exactly that reason.