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Bully Pulpit

The term "bully pulpit" stems from President Theodore Roosevelt's reference to the White House as a "bully pulpit," meaning a terrific platform from which to persuasively advocate an agenda. Roosevelt often used the word "bully" as an adjective meaning superb/wonderful. The Bully Pulpit features news, reasoned discourse, opinion and some humor.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

527 ads push the limit

(By Ed Morrissey, Hot Air) - How far can 527 groups go before they create more of a backlash than forward momentum? Opposing 527s have unveiled ads that may answer that question. A pro-Obama 527 makes an issue of McCain’s health and Sarah Palin’s inexperience, while a pro-McCain group talks about Obama’s connections with William Ayers, Tony Rezko, and Jeremiah Wright.

Let’s give the opposition first shot:



Unfortunately, this ad is filled with untruths. No one has yet produced a single instance in which a victim was charged for a rape kit in Wasilla, but that hasn’t stopped the press from repeating the smear. Palin has never said she wanted creationism taught in public schools. The other claims amount to half-truths, but the ad really is intended into frightening voters into thinking McCain will die after the election and leave Palin in charge. That’s not necessarily off-topic for this election, but the ham-handed way that the nurses union handles it makes it into a joke.

Next, we have the Judicial Confirmation Network reminding voters of the kind of associates Obama kept during his political career:



By comparison, this ad is much more mild — more fact-based, for one thing, and even understated. Obama didn’t just “associate” with William Ayers, he worked with Ayers for years at the Chicago Annenberg Challenge and the Woods Fund. Rezko raised over $250,000 for Obama, who lied twice about the funding during the course of this campaign.

The most controversial part of the ad will be the Jeremiah Wright link. Obama already threw his former pastor under the bus and quit Trinity United Church of Christ, and his supporters will argue that this is old news. Still, Obama sat in his church for over 20 years while Wright offered his radical, conspiratorial theories on race and American politics, and Obama didn’t break those ties until Wright suggested that Obama was just playing politics by publicly rebuking him.

JCW decided to take the high road in its approach. National Nurses Organizing Committee took a decidedly different approach.

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