Hilllary Leaps To Dial Up Fearmongering With New Ad

"If one candidate is trying to scare you and the other one is try get you to think, if one candidate is appealing to your fears and the other one is appealing to your hopes, you better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope."
-- William J. Clinton, former President of the United States, October 25, 2004

Well, they did say, before the debate the other evening, they were going to throw the "kitchen sink" at Obama, but, little did we know, they were going to rip one out of the Bush Grindhouse to do so.

Quite the dose of Bush Grindhouse-style fearmongering.

Who did they consult for the, now, growing infamous, 3AM Ad - McCain?, Or, maybe John Boenher and the Republican Caucus?

Actually, TNR's Jason Zengerle, at The Plank, concurs;

"I actually thought this commercial was pretty effective--right up until the very end when I realized it was for Hillary. I wonder if McCain can just buy the first 25 seconds of it from her and then recut the ending so he can use it in the general election."

(And one commenter on TNR picked up on something, quite apropos - "Only the Clinton campaign would think mom would be checking on the kids at 3:00 am still dressed in her snazzy business suit.")

With the 3AM Ad featuring sleeping children, nothing like countering your opponents message of uplifting hope, with threatening everyone "If you vote for him (Obama), your children will die!"

Considering how she's run her campaign, it's rather ironic of them calling it the 3AM Ad - it looks more like they don't know what time it is, or whether to piss or wind their watches.

We already used the 'High Noon' theme (and for an earlier, Republican fearmongering effort), otherwise, it would be applicable here, clocks ticking away, at every turn, with the Clinton staffers softly, nervously, singing "Do not forsake me O my darlin' ..."

Hillary may have past experience with getting calls at three-in-the-morning, but I doubt they had anything to do with national security, no matter which house she was living in.

And, what specific experience does Hillary have to infer she should answer the "red phone" at 3AM?

Perhaps its insomnia, again, looking at her campaign to-date.

Pretty ballsy to put this out now, after going 0-11 in February. Did we miss the polls that showed voters are clamoring to find a candidate that can answer a telephone - be it 3AM or 3PM?

Is there some measurable data that shows, if you let the call drop to voicemail, then you are not presidential timber?

What if one of the staffers answers it, and it can be handled by them, or it can wait until the normal work day?

What if it is, simply, someone that misdialed?

And considering she hasn't, necessarily, been on the front lines of fighting the Bush Grindhouse on the Protect America Act, and holding the line of granting Telcom Immunity, she wants to highlight telephone calls, much like her voting for the war ...

Jesus, is the entire campaign asleep, or what?

Besides, if she wanted to do a telephone ad, Hillary should have gone with a "Sorry, Wrong Number" motif ... Perhaps, she could play the terrified Barbara Stanwyck role, tweaking the plot to be overhearing a terrorist plot on her line - on Day One - and snapping into action, thwarting the plans and showing everyone she's The Commander Woman!

Obama, responding to the ad today;

"I will never see the threat of terrorism as a way to scare up votes, because it's a threat that should rally the country around our common enemies. That is the judgment we need at 3:00 a.m., and that's the judgment that I am running for as president of the United States of America."

Perhaps, after March 4th, whoever is calling that 3AM telephone, or the Clinton office that produced it, will reach a recording - "The number you have dialed has been disconnected and no longer in service ..."

With crap like this, we can only Hope.


Bonus Hillary Telephone Calling Plan Links

Pam's House Blend: Latest Clinton ad sells experience with fear-baiting

ABC's Political Radar: Clinton Goes Nuclear: New Ad Tests Obama

Erza Klein: IT'S 3AM. AND MY AD IS STUPID

Marc Ambinder: Clinton's "Red Phone"

Chris Cillizza: Clinton's "3 a.m. Phone Call" Ad


Oh, save us Hillary... Save us!