Small Things

Unable To Campaign On His Record, Obama Goes For An Ad About Big Bird

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Obama: “If You Don’t Have A Record To Run On… You Make A Big Election About Small Things.” OBAMA: “Because if you don’t have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things.” (Senator Barack Obama, Address Accepting The Presidential Nomination At The Democratic National Convention, Denver, CO, 8/28/08)

INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON THE BIG ISSUES, THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN RELEASED A “GOOFY” BIG BIRD AD

The Obama Campaign Released A New Ad Starring Big Bird. “The unlikely star of last week’s presidential debate is now starring in a political ad from President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. The spot, released Tuesday, sarcastically casts Big Bird as a corporate fiend akin to Bernie Madoff and Kenneth Lay. The campaign said it would air on national broadcast and cable.” (Kevin Liptak, “Big Bird The Focus In Sarcastic New Obama Ad,”CNN’s Political Ticker, 10/9/12)

Politico’s Maggie Haberman: The Ad Is “A Goofy Video Of The Big Bird Variety.” “The Obama campaign is out this morning with a goofy video of the Big Bird variety, mocking Mitt Romney, as the president has put it, as going easy on Wall Street but heavy on Sesame Street.” (Maggie Haberman, “Chicago Gets Serious…,” Politico’s Burns & Haberman, 10/9/12)

The Miami Herald’s Marc Caputo: “Forget Unemployment Or Foreign Policy, President Obama’s Campaign Is All Atwitter About Big Bird.” “Forget unemployment or foreign policy, President Obama’s campaign is all atwitter about Big Bird in its new ad about Mitt Romney’s call to reduce PBS subsidies. We knew the debate about Big Bird is a window into DC dysfunction, but this ad is quite a surprise.” (Marc Caputo, “Barack Obama Campaign Ad Attacks Mitt Romney Over Big Bird,” The Miami Herald’s Naked Politics , 10/9/12)

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MSNBC’s Willie Geist: “This Is From The Obama Campaign…That Actually Was From The Obama Campaign. That Was Not Stewart Or Colbert, How About That?” MSNBC’S WILLIE GEIST: “The Obama campaign now featuring Big Bird in a new TV ad out this morning. This is from the Obama campaign…That actually was from the Obama campaign. That was not Stewart or Colbert, how about that?” (MSNBC’s “Way Too Early With Willie Geist,” 10/9/12)

NBC’s Peter Alexander : The Ad Is An Example Of The “Absurd Back And Forth.” NBC’s PETER ALEXANDER: “And to give you a sense of what some may describe as the absurd back and forth in this election season, take a look at this. This is a new ad just out this morning from the Obama campaign.” (NBC’s “Today Show,” 10/9/12)

THE AD UNDERSCORES OBAMA’S LACK OF THEME AND CAMPAIGN MESSAGE

Time’s Mark Halperin: “Romney Is Running On A Theme He Can Sustain Through Election…While Chicago Has Switched From ‘Romney Is An Extremist’ To ‘Romney Is A Liar Who Hates Big Bird.” “Two, the message discipline reversal continues. Romney is running on a theme he can sustain through Election Day (‘we can’t afford four more years of Obama’), while Chicago has switched from ‘Romney is an extremist’ to ‘Romney is a liar who hates Big Bird.’ The Obama campaign has some sorting out to do on this, especially in the eyes of the Gang, and, perhaps, with voters.” (Mark Halperin, “State Of The Race,” TIME’sThe Page, 10/9/12)

Politico’s Maggie Haberman: “The President, As Others Have Noted, And His Team Have Been Going Fairly Small At A Moment When Romney Is Consistent In A Message And Pivoting Toward Going Bigger.” “And the president, as others have noted, and his team have been going fairly small at a moment when Romney is consistent in a message and pivoting toward going bigger (the foreign policy speech, more emotion on the trail, and so forth).” (Maggie Haberman, “Chicago Gets Serious…,” Politico’s Burns & Haberman, 10/9/12)

CNN’s Peter Hamby: “Their Campaign Has Been Criticized For Being About Small Things…We’ll See If This Could Be A Big Backfire For The Obama Campaign.” CNN’s PETER HAMBY:”I think this is kind of a, it’s a funny ad but it is kind of a risky bet here for the Obama campaign. You know their campaign has been criticized for being about small things. Before the convention they were criticized about that by Republicans all summer. We’ll see if this could be a big backfire for the Obama campaign.” (CNN, “Early Start,” 10/9/12)

NBC’s Chuck Todd: “When Is The Obama Campaign Going To Stop Talking About The Debate?” NBC’s CHUCK TODD: When is the Obama campaign going to stop talking about the debate? MSNBC’s JOE SCARBOROUGH: “That’s a good point. That’s a good point.” TODD: “One thing that grinds me about the Big Bird ad, which by the way isn’t really airing anywhere, I’ve confirmed they’ve not put it any of their battleground state buys, this is clearly as I was told, national cable, which seems like code for we put it out there hoping people will play it over and over because we think it’s a good snarky conversation…” SCARBOROUGH: “Doesn’t it just remind you of the debate?” TODD: “Yes, that’s what I don’t understand. They cannot seem to turn the page from their debate. They keep talking about it, we’re now up to five days, last Wednesday, we’re almost a week now and they seem to still be wanting to talk about that debate and any conversation about that debate I assume helps Mitt Romney, so I’m kind of curious about it.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 10/9/12)