John McCain: "The American president Americans have been waiting for"

Embarking on a "Service to America" tour to position himself as the candidate of choice for American patriots, John McCain has unveiled his first presidential election TV ad, in which he paints himself as a true American hero with a dedication to the American military pumping through every American vein and capillary (and if you think I've overused the word "American", just wait till you hear the ad).

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, immediately slammed McCain as a "blatant" opportunist for seeking to capitalise on his record as a naval aviator and later Vietnamese prisoner of war. The Republican National Committee then hit back, demanding Dean apologise for what they called a "disgraceful" character smear.

Watch the ad below, then scroll down for another web ad released today (on a similar theme - you'd better get used to it) and a selection of reaction from the web.

My DD:

"As many of his web ads over the course of the primary did, this one creepily exploits his status as a POW to hit us over the head with his war hero credentials.

"... I know it's pretty much all McCain has but is he really prepared to just entirely cede the change mantle to Obama, or even Clinton for that matter? The McCain campaign probably thinks there's plenty of time to make that case but when the Democrats are already hammering the message that McCain is nothing but 4 more years of Bush, you'd think he'd try to use the first ad of the campaign to counter that. Instead, what they're doing here is spending thousands of dollars to reinforces what people already think of McCain."

Salon.com:

"The ad concludes with a curious new slogan: "John McCain: The American president Americans have been waiting for."

"One guesses this was a second choice; the obvious first choice -- "John 'America' McCain: The American president Americans have been waiting for, in America" -- was likely judged too long."

The Stump at The New Republic:

"John McCain's new ad refers to him as "the American president Americans have been waiting for."

"... That's an awfully conspicuous formulation when your opponent has been accused of being unpatriotic and of murky foreign origin. All the more so given that it echoes Obama's line, "we're the ones we've been waiting for." Am I reading too much into it?"

Reality Principles:

"The Republicans have destroyed their brand. They hope the electorate will not notice. That's why McCain is campaigning as an American's American in America for Americans who are proud of being Americans. McCain, the Republican, isn't campaigning as a Republican."

Steve Benen on The Carpetbagger Report:

"It did remind me, though, of what McCain had to say about these kinds of tactics. In 2004, for example, he criticized John Kerry for reminding voters of his own heroic service. McCain said he was “sick and tired of re-fighting the Vietnam War,” and disparaged Kerry, saying his emphasis on his military record is “clearly a tactical or strategic move.” McCain said he intentionally avoided talking about his service during his 2000 campaign.

"And yet, eight years later, he’s building a campaign ad around interrogation footage taken from a Vietnamese prison. It’s quite a departure from McCain’s previous strategy."

Red State:

"You can tell the ad hit home by Howard Dean's reaction. ... Dean is so worried by the contrast of the Republican nominee to be, looking very presidential, while the Democratic presidential wannabees are engaging in nothing but senseless negativity."

Comments

[Tayl]

Lol! We've been waiting for this senile, ill-tempered, denture-slurring, blackhawk helicopter protected, carbon copy of the incompetent George "Is our children learning" Bush? Right!

[Michael Cathcart]

John McCain is the American President that Bin Laden is excited about, because now we will stay in the Middle East for atleast 100 years, which will give Bin Laden atleast 100 more years to kill Americans without any effort. Neither Hillary nor Barack are any better, each would stay in the middle east forever, and not leave Iraq until atleast 2013.

In addition, John McCain like Bush would be a great President for all Mexicans.

[fredrick]

obama has linguini arms. never done a hard day of work in his worthless life

[Brad]

Please, it would almost amount to political negligence for McCain not to draw the obvious contrast between him and Obama. He has led a life of service to America and comes from a deeply patriotic heritage. By his choice of a pastor and the remarks of his wife, it is obvious that Obama holds some measure of contempt for the country and certainly espouses the belief that wholesale cultural changes are in order.

I know that the word 'American' is a curse word in London and amongst liberal activists, but it most certainly is not in Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania where the next president will be decided. While anti-americanism is all the rage in the liberal blogs that you quoted, I think that the Democrats have mistaken contempt for Bush for a radical leftward turn in mainstream America. No one can deny that this will be perhaps the most interesting political drama in our lifetimes, as you could really not ask for a bigger personality contrast between Obama and McCain.

[Rockdad50]

"John McCain: The American president the New World Order bankers/elitest have been looking for"

[Paul Downes]

Oh, I'm sure having an former addict and self-confessed thief as a wife is a great boon too!!

[Ray Sutton]

McCain is obviously over the hill, probably senile, and definitely 'out to lunch'. Choosing him would be a disaster as bad as choosing Dumb-ass Dubya. If either of these guys had one more brain cell, it would be very lonely. Guys like this are making America a laughing stock around the world. Wake up, Cousins!

[C. G. Nugent]

I'm a little unclear why military service makes you a better President than the person who has not been shot at.
Does it make you a better person to decide who we should engage in diplomacy and who in battle? Does it make you better equipped to deal with economic issues, or crime, or social cohesion?
I suppose if America was in imminent danger of invading south-east Asia, he'd be a shoo-in.
But one downside of the campaign is that it reminds voters how old McCain is; Obama was a bit too young for Vietnam.

[Yolande M. Agble]

John Mc Cain- George Bush, mark 11, without the image of a sedate Laura Bush to enhance! What a prospect!

[heather collins]

I voted for Dr. Ron Paul in the primary. I am going to write him in when the main election comes. John McCain is actually worse than Bush. The rest of the people who do vote for McCain are blinded by his POW status. Also, Ron Paul is still running. The mainstream media has completely blacked him out.

[R.J.]

If all of your candidates ran on platforms of British weakness and fragility, wouldn't you stand behind a candidate who still felt pride in his nation? When Michelle Obama declares that she has never had pride in her country, and when the Clintons weep at our future, it's refreshing to hear a candidate still loves his country and still believes America is capable of greatness. The fact that McCain has a legitimate history of service to his country is one that the media is going to fight tooth and nail, so don't listen too closely to this kind of "plug your ears and don't listen to the patriotism" propaganda.

Then again, McCain never had to dodge sniper fire on a Bosnian airstrip.

[James F.]

Looks like more money will be dumped into the military! I guess we'll have to start taking away from medical, education, and retirement...oh wait we already do that! I have an idea that would fit into America's path... we spend so many dollars on military and less on education these days...why don't we just replace schools with training facilities and raise everyone as soldiers? Might as well. With the condition of the educational system, most people graduate feeling college is a reach and that it is easier just to join the military. Why waste those 12 years in between?