The Citizens United decision's true legacy may be better production value in cheeky political ads.
Karl Rove-led Super PAC American Crossroads--not the sell-your-soul-to-devil-for-blues-chops crossroads, the other crossroads--released an ad that goofs on Obama's hot-mic moment the other day, in which the President told outgoing Russian president Dmitri Medvedev that he would have "more flexibility" after the election. The ad casts Barack Obama as a combo James Bond/Manchurian candidate programmed to win one last election and hand America over to the Russians, who will forever be the extras to The Hunt For Red October to some people.
Catch those Soviet flags? Yes, this ad has more anachronistic cold war references than Archer. It also stars shirtless Vladimir Putin on horseback as himself. I'm calling it a draw.
In terms of political effectiveness, I'll give it a B minus. Everybody and their mother knew Rove was going to use that clip of Obama and Medvedev, and the ad has the cringe-inducing inevitability of a "that's what she said" line. It also raises one of the most perplexing of the Obama criticisms: that he's out to weaken the United States. Cuz why? There's no answer to that question that doesn't get into weird global agenda 21 conspiratory land, not the exit pragmatic Rove wants to take. Rove hopes he can ask the question and let viewers answer it in their minds, but as we know from the latter days of the 2008 election and the subsequent birther nonsense, the crazy juice you let out of the bottle can't be poured back in.
Also, James Bond is British. So Obama is a British Machurian candidate? Or an American Bond? I'm probably overthinking this.
Jenny Lansing:
Thank you, "Ology." Nice to know that some people in our 4th Estate are on top of things.
April 26, 2012
Jenny Lansing:
Amazing. After viewing the "video," I now know that Karl Rove is an idiot. A dangerous, sneaky idiot -- but an idiot just the same. Everyone knows the Cold War is over, dolt! And that's the LEAST of the problems with that inane piece of crap propaganda of Rove's!
April 26, 2012
Jenny Lansing:
Rove would know "flexible." Now that he's shilling for The Clone, aka ol' Etch-A-Sketch Robme, I meant Romney, Karl is probably so up close and personal with "The Weather Vane," he's got vertigo!
April 26, 2012
Jenny Lansing:
Somebody tell Karl Rove to just stop the madness. Isn't the evil "trick" he pulled on John McCain (concerning his adopted daughter) in 2000 bad enough? Getting K. Harris to demonically scrub the voter rolls of law-abiding minorities so they couldn't vote when they showed up to do their civic duty in Florida didn't give him enough of a demonic buzz? How about monstrously ensconcing George W. Bushs' FIRST COUSIN in the bowels of POX SPEWS on election night?! Having the ballots so poorly, dastardly designed and misaligned that they had distraught, Jewish Holocaust torture victims accidentally voting for an Anti-Semite?! None of that was enough to keep Karl from trying to destroy Democracy again? Was the Orwellian titled "Citizens" United Karl Rove's idea?
Rove's mentor, Lee Atwater, was despicable too, and died of cancer (of the BRAIN) at a relatively young age. Rove should heed the handwriting on the wall. God doesn't like ugly. For the evil he had done, Lee Atwater, just before he died, apologized to some people. Karl, that handwriting on the wall is too big for even you to ignore. Stop the damage you're doing to this country. Stop it, now! We the People will REFUSE to slide into Oligarchy! What will you do then, Mr. Pundit Prep?
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