Tim Blair

What, no Dixie Chicks soundtrack?

You'd wanna hope the figures in the ad are correct, given these figures.

Bah. There's plenty of numbers that say the opposite of those approval ratings, and frankly, with the direction the country's going economically and many other ways, Bush is looking at an 84-esque election. Kerry's doing his part by being a jackass. As for that ad, it needs to be on TV--it's as effective or more so than anything I have seen on there.

Wow!!

Hope Howard's ads are even half as good.

once again these guys are closin franks
'when we get our hands on the treasury keys......all bedts are off

Way to go

I LOVE it!
I wonder if good ol' Canadian boy Randy Bachman
knows that they are using his tune?
I like to think he would approve...I sure do!

dang, another song i need to go buy on itunes...

Man I wish our ads were a quarter as good as that. I spose if we werent forced to vote they might have to add a little pizaz to get us down to the booths.

I'd like it if only for the pictures of the cowboy-hatted, truck-driving, nail-pounding Bush at the beginning. I get the distinct impression that that kinda stuff pisses off the Dem faithful more than anything else, since it's exactly the sort of toughguy, everyman ease which Bush projects so effortlessly and which Kerry is straining himself trying awkwardly to emulate (taking the press with him to buy a jockstrap, calling the secret service guy who accidentally got in his way a "son of a bitch," saying he wants to "blow Osama Bin Laden's brains out," etc and etc), and coming off instead as just a jerk.

Yup. Repubs have become the party of the ordinary person in America.

Thank ya, thank ya, thank ya!
Spokane, WA

Great, great ad. Hope it gets on TV - I don't watch enough these days to know if it's been broadcast or not.

Er, I love the visuals, but but the rest of the lyrics in that catchy BTO song might not fit so well with the President's message:

And if your train's on time you can get to work by nine
And start your slaving job to get your pay
If you ever get annoyed look at me I'm self-employed
I love to work at nothing all day
...
People see you having fun just a lying in the sun
And tell them that you like it this way
It's the work that we avoid and we're all self employed
We love to work at nothing all day
...
And I've been takin' care of business everyday
Takin' care of business every way
I've been takin' care of business It's all mine
Takin' care of business and working overtime

At the risk of sounding like a ploddingly humorless Democrat, a fancy TV ad with that particular song would make the ineveitable snarky responses waay too easy.

That, and comments about "outsourcing" political tunes to Canadians.

I remember reading that Randy Bachman wanted Gore to use this song in his campaign, but that was too long ago to source. Since it was pre-9/11, I don't know if would be offended by a Bush use.

DAMN -I LOVE COWBOYS!!!

Look, campaigns constantly use parts of songs that don't make sense in context when all the lyrics are known. Big deal. As deconstructionists would say, "it doesn't matter what Bachman _thought he meant to say_ it's what the audience hears it to mean that counts." Likewise Springsteen and Born in the USA.

As a matter of fact, I get a big kick out lefty tunes being appropriated by normal 'Merkins.

Other than the inclusion of quotes from Greenspan (which Bush really shouldn't be using), this is a great ad that the Bush Campaign should buy from the creator.

Antony:
I guess the difference between popularity and accomplishment doesn't amount to much - unless you want the American population to be miserable for your own amusement.

"campaigns constantly use parts of songs that don't make sense in context when all the lyrics are known"

sometimes not just the songs are off-kilter

a few years ago, there was a tax amnesty program in New Jersey (trying to get people to pay owed back taxes). An ad for that program used the Blondie song "one way or another" but used the visual of Nazis jumping out of a plane... man, they'll do ANYTHING to get your tax dollars in good ol' Joisey.

(*)>

I know, I know. Snippets of songs are used out of context all the time. I'm one of those sad obsessive people and the full lyrics always insist on looping through my head. Pretty soon I've slipped into full blown cognitive dissonance and started drooling all over my keyboard again. Pity me!