'Things have changed'

September 14, 2008

SPOT: "Still"

AIRING: On national cable

SCRIPT: Announcer: "1982. John McCain goes to Washington. Things have changed in the last 26 years. But McCain hasn't. He admits he still doesn't know how to use a computer, can't send an e-mail. Still doesn't understand the economy. And favors $200 billion in new tax cuts for corporations, but almost nothing for the middle class. After one president who was out of touch . . . we can't afford more of the same.

BARACK OBAMA: "I'm Barack Obama and I approved this message."

IMAGES: This spot opens with the year 1982. Folksy music plays as a slideshow features a disco ball, a shot of John McCain wearing oversized, outdated glasses, a woman smiling into an old-school cellphone, a record player, an ancient desktop computer, and a Rubik's Cube. Shifting its focus to McCain, the ad features shots of a newer laptop and opened e-mail as it recounts McCain's purported Web woes. The information lambasting McCain's view on the economy is accompanied by footage of the Arizona senator riding in a golf cart and two champagne flutes toasting. The ad's mention of the middle class shows a family grocery shopping before closing with a shot of President Bush, with McCain standing by his side.

FACT-CHECKER: The ad cites a July article by Politico in which McCain acknowledged that he is just now learning to "get online." That same day, McCain told The New York Times that he "never felt the particular need to e-mail," but reads messages on his aides' BlackBerries. (A story in The Boston Globe in March 2000 reported that McCain couldn't use a keyboard because of a war injury.) The ad goes on to cite a December 2007 Globe article in which McCain admitted, "the issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should," adding, "I've got [Alan] Greenspan's book." The $200 billion proposed cut in corporate income tax is for a four-year period.

ANALYSIS: This new ad airs as part of an intensified effort by the Obama camp to portray McCain as mired in the past, in contrast to Obama's tech-savvy and youthful support base. The ad, without directly addressing McCain's age, uses images to cheekily suggest that McCain is out of date - and out of touch - with the needs of a society that will depend on technology for jobs that will sustain middle-class workers hard-hit by outsourcing and downsizing. By using an image of McCain circa 1982 - his first year in the Senate - the Obama campaign slips in a reminder of just how long McCain has been in Washington, trying to undermine his claim to be an agent of change.

ERICH SCHWARTZEL