'That's John McCain.'

August 7, 2008

SPOT: "Family"

AIRING IN: Battleground states

SCRIPT: Announcer: "Is the biggest celebrity in the world ready to help your family? The real Obama promises higher taxes, more government spending. So, fewer jobs. Renewable energy to transform our economy, create jobs, and energy independence, that's John McCain."

IMAGES: Opening scenes of Barack Obama addressing and greeting huge crowds chanting, "Obama, Obama." Then, a transition into images of one child giving a piggyback ride to another, followed by wind turbines, McCain on the campaign trail, and an off-shore oil rig at sunset.

FACT-CHECKER: McCain's campaign cites Obama's proposal to let some of President Bush's tax cuts lapse, to raise the top tax rate on capital gains, and to increase Social Security payroll taxes. But the ad does not acknowledge that the vast majority of American families would not be affected by those proposals, which would largely target those earning $200,000 or more a year, or that Obama is calling for a series of tax cuts for middle-class families. Obama has proposed a slew of new spending programs, but that could create more jobs, not fewer. And Obama says his energy plan will create 5 million new jobs.

ANALYSIS: McCain again tries to paint his Democratic rival as an out-of-touch celebrity, then tries to appeal to voters worried about the economy. The ad asserts that Obama's policies would be bad for American families, and follows a longstanding, and effective, Republican strategy of calling Democrats tax-and-spend liberals. The spot throws in a plug for McCain's plan on energy - an issue he is emphasizing daily and that polls suggest is giving him traction in the presidential race.

FOON RHEE