Word: adding
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2000
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...York Times was reporting that a Bush ad attacking Al Gore's prescription drug plan spelled out the word "RATS" in a single thirtieth-of-a- second frame. Was it a subliminal dig at the vice president or a chance result from the computerized video effect used in the ad to scramble up and respell the word "bureaucrats...
Seated in their tastefully embroidered chairs, reporters lined up the evidence on each side of the issue. Alex Castellanos, the author of the ad, was well known to everyone as a tough, mean message masseur. "RATS" was perfectly framed in the screen, while the other letters in the special effect bounced randomly across the screen to the beat of background music. On the other side of the argument the case was made that it was a pretty lame gambit, lacking such art that it must be a mistake...
...back-and-forth over breakfast was probably the day's most reasonable conversation. Minutes later the candidate was on "Good Morning America" and Diane Sawyer was asking him about the ad. The Pack was off. Among the stories being ignored that day was what the campaign is actually planning to do, which is go strongly negative. But the rest of the day Bush and his aides were ducking rat questions...
...ad fiasco reminds us of Bob Dole's fall from the stage in Chico, Calif., late in his 1996 campaign. It wasn't anything in particular that Dole did, but the mishap confirmed some of the worst fears about the candidate: that he was old, had old policies and was running a faltering campaign. The same might be said here too for Bush. The ad makes him look underhanded and excessively juvenile in a frat-boy kind of way. Coming after last week's barnyard epithet, it makes the "change the tone, bring honor and dignity" crusade look a little...
...Even assuming the public buys their line of defense, the committee remains in an unenviable spot: To distance themselves (and their candidate) from the ad, they've got to castigate Castellanos as publicly as possible. The fact that Castellanos is one of the best in the business won't make their decision any easier; with the exception of his work on Bob Dole's 1996 presidential bid, the adman has generally thrown his hat into the winning ring. He can be venomous, but he gets the job done...