Double Negative

The Kole household received two mailings today- one from Hillary Clinton, one from Barack Obama. Let's break them down.

Obama: I was briefly fooled by this one. The cover shows Hillary Clinton smiling, with a microphone. I thought it was a Clinton piece, until I read the text: "When the chips are down and we need her most, can we really count on Hillary Clinton to stand up for Indiana jobs?"

You see where this is headed. "We can't trust Hillary Clinton to protect Indiana jobs." The proof? A cover of Fortune Magazine, with her face on it and the proclamation "Business Loves Hillary!"

You know, (sarcasm alert) I hate that in a President. I want a President who is hated, no, SCORNED, by business. (sarcasm alert) No good can come from that prosperity nonsense.

What kind of stupidity is Obama trying to sell here? That tried and true stupidity that appeals to losers- protectionism. And worse, it's an attack ad. The campaign could have touted something Obama is for, but his campaign felt the need to promote being against someone instead.

Clinton: Instead of her face (or Obama's) on the cover, Clinton's ad has a multi-cultural group standing beneath the question, "Which of These People Don't Deserve Health Care?"

Normally, I expect this rhetoric from someone playing the race card, so it's curious when offered in opposition to Obama. All the more curious when you consider that you can't tell who doesn't deserve health care by looking at them, as any non-racist should know. You have to know whether or not they've planned and invested properly to manage such costs to cast such judgment.

This is, of course, also an attack ad. In fact, this one doesn't have Clinton's face on it at all, but does have a small smiling picture of Barack Obama. Again, you know who to vote against- not so much who to vote for.

I'm sure these campaigns know what they're doing. They wouldn't go negative if they didn't think it worked. I find such negative advertising perfectly repellent.

I find it a worse mark on Obama, though. I expect negativity and attack from Clinton. Obama had been working so hard to give the imagery, the feeling of positivism. When the chips are down, it comes back to negativity.

I declare them both correct. Niether of their primary opponents are worth voting for. Where does that leave us?