must see tv

October 30, 2008 by ksolo
Filed under dinner and a movie

So, did you catch Barack Obama’s 30-minute infomercial last night?

I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but after viewing, I can say that I think he nailed it.

Of course there have been cries of excessive spin and that Obama’s proposals were unrealistic given our current budget deficit, economic crisis, etc. And of course, those accusations are probably not far from the truth. But commercials, or rather infomercials – as Ron Popiel, Susan Powter, and that Guy Smiley-looking dude can tell you – are not about convincing people to buy based on fact and logic, but based on something that tugs at them emotionally.

And man, was Obama tugging.

Composed of vignettes that captured the real, everyday issues of real, everyday people like:

a young married woman with a gaggle of kids whose husband has had to delay surgery so that can keep their two-income budget on track
a retired black couple that was looking forward to enjoying their golden years, until a chronic disease forced the husband to come out of retirement and take a job at Wal-Mart to help pay for his wife’s treatment
a teacher who is also enrolled in school herself and holds down a second job caring for special-needs kids just to help make ends meet

In just those three brief family segments, Obama managed to hit a lot of target audiences right in the heart: White people? Check. Black people? Check. Women? Check. Teachers? Check. Special needs children and their caretakers? Check. Young, old, marginally employed, chronically ill? Check. Check. Check. And…Check.

And just when you thought the proverbial ‘Joe Six Pack’ wasn’t going to make an appearance, he did – In the form of a Ford factory worker from Kansas who’s had his hours cut back drastically.

Check. Mate.

Add in some patriotic sounding music, and a few personal endorsements from the likes of Google’s CEO, then round out the 30 minutes with a live shot of Obama in a stadium full of cheering supporters….

Let’s just say if Obama were a product on QVC, they would’ve made a mint in record time.

Later on that night, Barack appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart via satellite. Looking jovial and rather relaxed, he bantered easily with Jon, even joking that he doesn’t think white voters have gotten the memo about the so-called Bradley effect. But conceded that he might have a problem with it himself, given his interracial heritage.

Oh and sometime after I passed out from all the viewing excitement, this happened: