Barack Obama’s 30-minute campaign commercial on Wednesday night was not merely a tactical decision to carpet-bomb millions of Americans in pursuit of a few thousand undecided voters who can dictate the outcome of the presidential campaign. Aired on seven network and cable stations, the ad served as a national get-out-the-vote organising tool for Obama operatives. It offered even the swiftest channel-flipper the chance to see Obama looking presidential, helping to condition voters to that possibility. And once again it proved to John McCain, and everyone else, how Obama’s deep pool of campaign cash has allowed him to rewrite the rules of the campaign.As the years-long pursuit entered its final days, the Democrat’s commercials were pelting important electoral states, trying to smother efforts by McCain to diminish Obama’s lead in polls of voters nationally and in most of the states likely to decide the result.The half-hour Obama ad was a classic closing commercial, with a positive tone that belied the hand-to-hand combat going on in key states, both on the air and on the ground. He did not mention the names of his opponents, McCain and Palin, nor was there more than an elliptical reference to President Bush.Instead, he presented himself as one who understands the fears of middle-class voters. Prominently mentioned were key electoral states, including Missouri, Ohio, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida. The film evoked Americana, opening with amber waves of grain.McCain mocked the ad, calling it a reminder that Obama broke a promise to accept federal financing of his campaign. McCain’s dependence on federal money has left him severely constrained against Obama’s ad blitz. “When you’re watching this gauzy, feel-good commercial, just remember that it was paid for with broken promises," McCain said.
