Eh, apparently I’m in the minority here, but I think it’s a very effective ad. Seriously, it’s just so damn relatable to most voters that it’s bound to stick at least somewhat. I’ll grant that it’s a bit silly to blame Romney on this man’s tragic story, but still, the point that the ad makes is very strong.
I also kind of agree with the poster above me who claimed that (absent the Romney and Bain connections) this ad could’ve worked much better as a pro-ACA advertisement. The message in that case would’ve changed from “here’s a tragic occurance and it’s all Mitt Romney’s fault” into “here’s a tragic occurance that the ACA will stop from happening and that the Republicans want to take us back to.” The second interpretation might’ve been more impactful with the public.
But, in my opinion, since appealing or otherwise nerfing the ACA is an important part of Romney’s platform, I think it still works, at least for people who care about that issue.
The business owner who lays you off is almost universally reviled in American society. Sure, in the abstract people act like they think it’s okay, but that’s why the ad is trying to make it personal.
Being the better person just doesn’t win elections. Fighting fire with fire is what works. It sucks, but, like capitalism, it’s a necessary evil.
Yes, the word meaning would have been better in that sentence. But, you understand my point.
The meaning needs to change with the omission for it to be “taking it out of context”. It doesn’t. Whether you listen to just the chosen (admittedly worst) sentences from this speech that the ad played, or the whole thing unedited, the meaning is the same.
“The president does, in fact, believe that people who build enterprises like this really aren’t responsible for it, that in fact it’s a collective success of the whole society that somehow builds enterprises like this.” -Romney.
This sums it up well. It’s convenient that Obama gave us the pithy “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that.” line. But, looking at the whole statement that’s clearly what he means and how he feels.
Hmmm. According to this, since July the gap in the popular vote between Obama and Romney has widened from 3 percentage points to 7 in favor of Obama; since May Romney’s unfavorable ratings among independents has gone from 40% to 50%; and also since May, the percentage of people who believe the economy would get better under Romney has dropped 5 points. Oh, but there’s good news for Romney! “Four months after he wrapped up the race for the GOP nomination, 56% of Romney voters say they strongly support him, up from 47% in May.” :rolleyes: It seems as though the CNN’s propensity for being “balanced” is in good working order.
It does nothing of the kind. But I don’t think I can convince you of this and there’s no point to hijack this thread any longer. I’ll just try a quote from FactCheck and drop it.
"The video does not include any other remarks from the president’s speech, including the five sentences preceding his remarks when he says: “If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges.”
He didn’t say business owners didn’t build their businesses. The ad is a complete distortion. Romney gets part of it right in that quote where he says “it’s a collective success”. I will say that.
Jon Stewart covers conservative reaction starting at @ 4:45 http://www.hulu.com/watch/389737 (Warning, contains video of Ann Coulter for those who are sensitive to enraged nasally voices )
If you watch through to the first commercial, they have a new anti-Obama ad to counter it.
So my and Romney’s interpretation of the ad is a complete distortion, except for the part that’s right?
This reminds me of the episode of Seinfeld, where Jerry bets Cramer that he wouldn’t follow through on building a system of “levels” in his apartment. After betting that he would do it, Cramer decides not to. So, he tells Jerry the bet is off.
Jerry replies with exasperation, since he clearly won the bet. “But that WAS the bet!” Cramer doesn’t get it.
Obama insisting that business owners didn’t build their businesses themselves and instead owe their success to the collective or government is what’s got him in hot water. Nobody believes that he literally meant business owners didn’t work for their business. Not me. Not Romney. No one. It’s more subtle than that.
That’s what the shortened version “you didn’t build that” means. That’s why it doesn’t change when you play the entire clip.
I don’t expect you to agree. That’s fine. But, hopefully you at least understand the point of view.
I don’t think so. It’s become fairly common practice. I don’t have a cite, but Colbert has shown lots of clips on his show poking fun of this.
He even has a bit where he is getting funded by Stewart, who owns his PAC. But, they can’t work together. So, to get around it he just talks into the camera asking for the PAC to stop playing an ad and Stewart of course goes along with it.
It seems like the way the law is being interpreted it’s not allowed to work with the PAC to generate media. But it is allowed to publicly state you are opposed to a message or an ad, and then the ad drops from the airwaves because the PAC got the public message you sent.
Your Romney quote is not in the ad. I said the ad was a complete distortion, not what you or Romney think about it.
Then the ad failed in its purpose, because the ad clearly wants to show that Obama doesn’t respect business owners. From the ad: “We (business owners) are the solution, not the problem. It’s time we have someone who believes in us, someone who believes that achievement should be rewarded, not punished. We need someone who believes in America.” Yeah, real subtle. Like a sledgehammer.
Obama passed this legislation. Romney wants to repeal it. That equals 30 million people with no coverage and many of them with pre-existing condition restrictions. Doesn’t mean the ad is accurate, but that’s not what I was saying.
The GOP response to this ad is fucking golden, calling Obama to renounce the ad and disavow its contents. Seriously, this is the same party whose radical members routinely call out the POTUS for being a secret closeted foreign Muslim - not to mention all of the lies that Romney has endorsed in his actual campaign ads - yet they’re getting bent out of shape because this super PAC ad may not be entirely accurate? Give me a break; what they’re really upset about is the Dems being tough, which is something that the GOP just isn’t used to seeing.
Conservatives don’t like it? Tough shit, but you gotta fight fire with fire.
