If you were McCain and had less than three weeks to go and finite resources, where would you spend your dough?
The Times has a great map showing where both McCain and Obama have been buying ads throughout the summer and fall. Most of the markets are familiar, but a couple of strange buys stick out.
Florida – The Obama camp is absolutely blanketing the Sunshine State and the McCain team appears to just be making a token effort. The Dems’ have spent a whopping $6.2 million in Tampa alone. Did Obama gain in Florida because of the tanking market or because of these ads?
Small markets – McCain’s map looks like it has the chicken pox. What in the world was he doing buying ads in the Bakersfield, Wichita Falls and Syracuse markets? He must have bought a national ad that aired there or something.
Appalachia — Look at the absence of blue stretching from West Virginia to Arkansas. And then look at the ancestry map of those who identify themselves as “American.” This is the Scots-Irish/pro-Hillary belt.
Upper Midwest – The Obama camp seemed to never really worry about Iowa or Minnesota while the McCain camp spent a lot of money there.
Phightin’ Philly – Philadelphia has a history of failure in sports and their dismal Eagles are a perennial joke. But more money was spent in Philly than any other market. The two camps have spent about a combinded $17.5 million there.
Pacific Northwest — The airwaves are quiet in Oregon and even quieter in Washington. This speaks to Obama’s appeal up there.
Bellwether Missouri — The state is living up to its reputation as the consummate bellwether. The candidates are battling it out market-by-market and dollar-by-dollar there.
Jay
20 October 2008 at 4:43 PM
One thing I cannot stand about Fox News is the constant repitition of stupid commercials like the cialis/viagra commercials and the commercials showing babies throwing up and young people gargling.
Us older people remember a kinder, gentler time when commercials were not in such poor taste.
Lately making my blood boil is the Obama health care ad which is so full of lies and distortions, and misleading information it is a joke. The constant repitition is a big pain in the neck and I wonder if this overspending by Obama may backfire.
San_Fran_Sam
20 October 2008 at 5:24 PM
Jay, I suppose that the lies and distortions and misleading information in McCain’s ads don’t bother you so much do they?
toby
21 October 2008 at 4:01 AM
It is clear from the maps that the Obama campaign, even with more money, has been much more focussed on where it has spent.
That suggests a much better thinking through of a winning strategy. Other aspects of the campaign show the same difference … Obama has had a consistent strategy, McCain has had a series of gimmicks, almost a different one every week (”Not Ready to Lead”, “Mavericks”, “Lipstick on a Pig”, “William Ayers”, “Campaign Suspension”, “Joe the Plumber”, ..).
I think an honest examination highlights that one of the candidates has shown superior credentials for the post of Chief Executive – Barack Obama.
Jay
21 October 2008 at 12:33 PM
The problem is that the ad is repeated over and over again ad nauseum. The McCain ads are not and I am not aware that they are as full of lies and distortions as this one which is constantly running in N VA.