Horserace
April 8, 2008 2:58 PM

Obama Targets Women In New Ad

By
Brian Montopoli
Topics
Barack Obama
Barack Obama has a new ad out in Pennsylvania apparently designed to appeal to a segment of the population with whom rival Hillary Clinton is usually stronger: women.

The ad features three female Obama supporters, all of whom are related to the Illinois senator: Michelle, his wife, Maya Soetoro Ng, his half sister, and Madelyn Dunham, his grandmother. You'll recall that Obama famously referenced Dunham in his speech on race, noting that "on more than one occasion [she] has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."

As soothing music plays in the background, the spot opens with Soetoro Ng saying that "people recognize themselves in Barack."

"They feel understood by him," she adds. "In part, that's because he listens so well."

Dunham is then shown, first in a photo with a young Obama, and then addressing the camera. "I think it's given him a lot of depth and a broadness of view," she says.

It's unclear from the ad to what Dunham is referring; the New York Times quotes an Obama spokesman saying she is referencing "her grandson's willingness to listen to folks, which allows him to better empathize and understand what they are going through."

The spot then cuts to Obama's wife, Michelle. "Barack and I talk all the time about making sure that our girls can imagine any kind of world for themselves, with no barriers," she says, as the Obama family is shown onscreen. The spot then cuts back to Soetoro Ng, who states that Obama "wants to make sure that everybody's children have the opportunities that his daughters have."

Watch it:


Add a Comment See all 49 Comments
by anappleadae April 10, 2008 2:20 AM EDT
Obama is a man. For him to pretend he is not sexist is ridiculous. But this issue isn''t worth pursuing as much as Obama''s negative National Security issues. How about a TV ad where Obama explains association with his friend William Ayers(Weather Underground founder) when they were fellow board members at Woods Funds approving funding for the Arab American Action Network. Or maybe why Obama needs to station a campaign staff member at the Federal Court trial of his friend Rezko. These would make great ads and clear up any misconceptions about his National Security negatives.
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by pepperp1 April 9, 2008 2:06 PM EDT
WASTE OF TIME....

COUNT ALL THE VOTES....

reject DEAN and Brazile and their Race fixing disqualifers and demand the DNC fire them both


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by luxurytax-2009 April 9, 2008 12:34 PM EDT
WAKE UP,the race thing will never be over.dont get me worng,Hilary wouldn''t be a bad choice at all for the position but in all honesty i believe Obama would do a much better job of getting things back on track,either way,i would be honered of either contender winning the election. GO OBAMA!!!
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by jack3213 April 9, 2008 12:12 PM EDT
I CAN COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR CHANGE. I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY THOSE WHO THINK EITHER DEMOCRAT HAS THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE CHANGE CORRECTLY. DID YOU READ THAT RIGHT: CORRECTLY. IT IS NOT JUST A WORD: CHANGE, IT IS A RESULT OF AN ACTION THAT REQUIRES QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIACNE AND GOOD JUDGEMENT. NEITHER DEMOCRAT HAS ANY OF THOSE CHARACTERISTICS. SURELY YOU ALL MUST BE READING THE PAPERS AND LISTENING TO THE NEWS TO KNOW THAT BOTH DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES HAVE HUGE AMOUNTS OF BAGGAGE AND CANNOT JUSTIFY LEADING A COUNTRY BECAUSE OF GENDER OR RACE, WHERE SO MANY ARE LEANING FOR THAT FACT ALONE. DENIAL IS DANGEROUS IN TIME OF WAR. THIS IS NOT A GAME, THIS IS REAL. MCCAIN MIGHT BE A REPUBLICAN AND TO SOME PEOPLE THAT IS A BAD WORD, BUT IF THE MAN HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO CHANGE THINGS WHY DENY HIM THAT RIGHT. VOTING FOR A DEMOCRAT WOULD BE LIKE FOLLOWNG THE HERD OFF A CLIFF BECAUSE THEY SAY IT IS THE RIGHT WAY TO CHANGE THINGS. TIME TO WAKE UP FOLKS. MCCAIN 2008.
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by craigh9 April 9, 2008 11:45 AM EDT
The most basic of political processes will result in Obama getting the nomination. Fact is Obama is a money raising machine and we all know that politicians flock towards money. Since the Superdelegates are politicians they will flock to obama at the most oppportune time for them to look good.
This race is totally over, the Hillary Huggers just wont let go. If she won every remaining primary 55% to 45% she would still be behind Obama - and would need to capture 2/3''s of the superdelegates from there. Since she WILL NOT win them all and Obama has the ability to raise campaign funds far in excess of Hillary - this is a done deal, we are just waiting for Hillary to figure it out.
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by wync April 9, 2008 11:39 AM EDT
All of you diehard Clintonites and Obamacrats really need to chill out. You are losing focus on what is really important, "Winning the White House and getting the country back on a constructive path." These forums have shown how petty and foolish people can be. Democrats will lose the White House this fall. Not because of Hillar Clinton or Barack Obama (because it doesn''t matter who the nominee is at this point), but because of the vindictive zealousness of their surrogates. Congratulations, President-Elect McCain!
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by luxurytax-2009 April 9, 2008 11:35 AM EDT
What do you people have against this man?I bet u r the same idiots that voted for bush.Is it that bad that a black man just might have a chance at being elected for presidency...lets look at the real issues America.In my opinion, there is no compettition.
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by rowdytexan2 April 9, 2008 4:55 AM EDT
What multi-national corporation in the world would put a person with barely 36 months of experience at the helm to run it. It just makes no sense at all.

Seeing how he was a total failure in Illinois for 7 years and didn''t pass a piece of legislation and when he did it was handed to him, that is years that absolutely cannot be counted as successful experience.

The man''s politics from day one were dirty, and his payoff of $300 million dollars to Mr. Jones who handed him legislation to pass is even more corrupt.

There''s no way core democrats and cross-over republicans will vote for this shill.
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by lottobee April 9, 2008 2:55 AM EDT
Obama made a total fool of himself at the hearings today ---- telling us yet again that he opposed the war in Iraq --- his big claim to fame. Meanwhile he has ads running stating that he never took money from OIL CONTRIBUTORS when he took over $200,000 from oil executives and their families. He''s a typical Chicago hack and lies with a straight face and only opposed Iraq because it was politically expedient and would make him stand out. He lied to the Kennedy family about the connections to his father and everything he has done has been calculated to position himself for a run for the presidency. He is not the long awaited messiah --- but more likely, he is the doomsday candidate who will finally fracture the democratic party.
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by Josiah_Rowe April 9, 2008 2:37 AM EDT
One person''s "seasoning" is another person''s "corruption". If experience means years of dealing with the corrupt Washington establishment, then nobody with "experience" will ever be interested in changing that establishment. Obama has enough experience and familiarity with the way Washington works to get the job done, but not so much that he''s tainted by it.

And as for the accusations of being "anti-American" or "corrupt", both are absurd when you examine the actual facts. Aside from the guilt-by-association of Rezko and Wright, there is no evidence at all that Obama is anything but patriotic and honest.

And condescension is in the eye of the beholder.
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