Obama Buys Olympics Airtime, While RNC Runs Spot In Paris...Maine

The race for the White House is expected to take something of a backseat when the Olympics begin August 8th, but Barack Obama isn't exactly ceding the spotlight to the rhythmic gymnasts: The presumptive Democratic nominee is paying NBC Universal $5 million to air commercials during the Beijing games.

It is, Ad Age reports, "the first significant network-TV buy of any presidential candidate in at least 16 years."

News of an ad buy from the Republican National Committee has also emerged, though it's a far smaller buy than Obama's. In a cheeky response to Obama's headlines-dominating European trip, the RNC is airing radio ads in American cities that share names with the European cities Obama is visiting.

Obama's stop in Berlin, Germany has resulted in spots in Berlin, Pennsylvania, Berlin, Wisconsin and Berlin, New Hampshire; his expected Paris stop has led the RNC to air its ad in Paris, Maine, Paris, Michigan and Paris, Missouri.

You can listen to the attack ad here; it claims that "Obama chose Washington politics over the needs of our military," while McCain "has always put the public interest first."

"If Obama can't rise above politics to support our soldiers in a time of war, then how can he claim to have the strength to change the way Washington works?" the spot concludes. "John McCain is ready to lead. Barack Obama is not."