Controlling The Message

If I were in charge of commercials for Obama and the Democrats I'd begin putting together a collection of video moments and photos so poignant they would speak for themselves and require only the briefest of follow-up comments.

One of my favorites would be "The Hug" - - that snapshot of Senator McCain resting his head on President Bush's shoulder. It dovetails rather nicely with "The Shays Kiss" planted on Bush at his last State of the Union address. Of course Shays is Connecticut's problem so that touching show of affection might best be left to that state's Democratic organization when he runs for re-election to the House this fall.

Joe Lieberman doesn't have to run again in November, but, for such a small man, he has been an exceedingly large presence at John McCain's side; Democrats may wish to rethink his committee assignments in January. His sotto voce correction, when McCain misspoke about Sunnis, Shiites, Al Qaeda and Iran is a not-to-be-missed moment and just the beginning of McCain's on-camera confusion about important influences and relationships in the Middle East. It could play nicely in tandem with his repeated assertions that Barack Obama "just doesn't understand..."

And Marie Antoinette's famous "let-them-eat-cake" would be a perfect caption for that photo op of George Bush arriving in Arizona with a birthday cake for John McCain. Nothing could show more clearly the obtuse nature of a president who would think he was making a grand gesture when, just a few states away, Katrina victims were clinging to rooftops or sweltering in a convention center without food or water. Seeing these two men together at such a time in such a way should bring back a flood of unpleasant images, no pun intended.

A clip of Phil Gramm railing against a nation of "whiners" complaining about what he describes as a "mental recession" could resonate among voters as well - - those cry babies struggling to stay afloat as prices rise at the gas pump and grocery store and their jobs are at risk. Slip in McCain's description of Gramm as his "economic guru" and possible choice for Treasury Secretary and you've got a message that packs a real wallop.

If possible use The Daily Show's segment in which Jon Stewart alluded to McCain's geographical confusion when he referred to the Iraq-Pakistan border. With a map of the area, Stewart pointed to the countries in question and said, ‘right, that border is Iran' which in fact separates Iraq from Pakistan. It can't be reassuring to discover that a candidate who claims to have foreign-policy expertise is so deficient in that very area, especially when he has the nerve to repeatedly accuse his opponent of not understanding.

Also high on my list of favorites would be the video of Barack Obama chatting with General Patraeus in a helicopter over Iraq juxtaposed to the one of John McCain riding in a golf cart with the first President Bush in the same time frame. Patraeus may not be buying into any kind of timetable or time "horizon", but there were earnest conversations going on. But what would the ex-president and the senator have been discussing - - some major policy innovations or just an upcoming fundraising event?

Would it be too cruel to include one of those moments when an unexpected question catches McCain unawares and that dazed look engulfs his face? It's hard to say whether he has no idea how to address the substance of the question, or is dredging up a way to change the subject. Often in these situations he cracks some little joke that has the unfortunate effect of making him appear kind of goofy since he always seems to enjoy his own humor more than most observers.

The McCain campaign keeps trying to make Obama's character the issue. By describing him as naïve and inexperienced and questioning his patriotism they hope their candidate will profit by the comparison. But reality isn't on their side. Despite underlying problems of race and an angry pastor, Obama speaks to the hopes of an electorate disenchanted with the old ways of Washington. Matters of substance still trump superficial attacks even among voters who are easily distracted.

One should probably tread lightly in designing attack ads, but there's a lot of good stuff Democrats could use without sinking to the level of McCain's false, misleading and hokey commercials. If I were in charge I'd take a few shots.