Until you get to the end of this fearmongering campaign ad, it’s easy to think, given the history of such ads, that it’s an anti-Democrat attack ad from John McCain. Then, at the end, the voice of Hillary Clinton announces that she approves the message.
“I don’t think these ads will work this time because the question is not about picking up the phone. The question is, what kind of judgment will you exercise when you pick up that phone. In fact, we have had a red phone moment; it was the decision to invade Iraq,” responded Barack Obama. “Senator Clinton gave the wrong answer. George Bush gave the wrong answer. John McCain gave the wrong answer. I stood up and I said that a war in Iraq would be unwise.”
And then there’s Hillary’s chief strategist claiming that it’s a “positive” ad, with “soft images” — despite the ad clearly intending to say (in Greg Sargent’s words) “that you can’t trust Obama to answer that red phone while your children sleep”.
At least, for those of us following along, we now know what chapter in the GOP campaign playbook Hillary has most recently read.
