As if the Paris Hilton ads weren't bad enough, here goes Cotton Hill and Co. again, insulting American voters as a whole this time.
Aren't these ads beginning to cross the point of no return? I totally get that they're trying to paint Obama as an empty suit, which is bullcrap, you can't survive this long on speeches alone. It's one thing to insult vapid celebs like Hilton and Britney Spears. It's another altogether to start insulting the American public. I mean, come on. I know you're trying to appeal to your base and Independents, but wouldn't it be prudent to explain to Obama supporters why they might consider you, rather than insulting them? Imagine if Obama came out with an ad mocking those who applaud McCain's patriotism? It may sound out of bounds, but if you think about it, McCain is essentially insulting those who are drawn by Obama's inspirational qualities.
And, as usual, this ad contains yet another boldfaced lie blatant distortion. It states that Obama is pushing for a tax increase for everyone making over $42,000 a year. This is pure bull.
The measure Obama supported contained a provision – which is not part of his current tax proposals – that would have increased the rate paid by those who have taxable income high enough to fall into the 25 percent tax bracket. The 25 percent rate would have increased to 28 percent, as it was before the Bush tax cuts. The effect would have been to increase taxes for a single taxpayer with as little as $32,550 in taxable income in 2008, after all deductions and exclusions from total annual earnings.So, again, blatant lies and distortions, as opposed to simply telling the American people why you're better than your opponent. What part of the game is that? If your campaign is so great, then why do you spend more time talking about the other dude? Do you see McDonalds talkin' smack about Burger King? Does Honda diss' Toyota? Does KFC run ads about how they're better than Popeyes? I'm just sayin'.
But that works out to be $41,500 a year in total income for a single taxpayer with no dependents who takes the standard deduction and exemption allowed by the tax code. So it's true that a single taxpayer making $42,000 this year would see an income tax increase – of $15. That assumes the provision Obama voted for had been enacted and assumes further that the taxpayer did not qualify for more than the standard deduction.
But the McCain ad misleads with a strong visual message. The $42,000 claim is true for a lone taxpayer, but it is not true for the woman who is pictured in the ad while the announcer is speaking. She's reading to two small children, apparently her own. If she is supposed to be a single mother of two, then she would be able to make as much as $62,150 in total income in 2008 without being affected by the measure Obama once supported. She would file as a "head of household" with more generous tax brackets and standard deductions than for a single filer, and she would also qualify for exemptions for herself and her two children. (She would also qualify for a $1,000 credit for each child, since they both are obviously under 17, but this would be true whether or not the 25 percent bracket had been increased to 28 percent.)
Furthermore, if viewers are to believe that the woman in McCain's ad is married and files taxes jointly with her husband, the couple could make as much as $90,000 this year without being affected. And anyway, as noted earlier, Obama isn't proposing to implement any such increase in the 25 percent bracket.
Between this nonsense and that plagiarized speech that he cribbed from Wikipedia, I think McCain's lack of ability to handle The Number One Spot is becoming glaringly obvious.
Seriously, this is starting to get old, but it's not really surprising. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the McCain campaign is about 8 weeks past being desperation.
Now, they're veering into downright shamelessness.
Question: Do you think the McCain campaign is insulting the American voter with this latest series of ads, or does campaign purposely distort facts because they know most people don't bother to check them? If you're a McCain supporter, do you agree with such Bush-league tactics? And please don't tell me Obama does the same. Of course he does. But he also seems to spend more time talking about what he's going to do, versus what John McCain isn't. To me, it's becoming clearer that this campaign is more about America vs Obama than Obama vs McCain. Am I wrong?
FactCheck: McCain Continues To Distort Obama's Tax Proposals [Newsweek]
Did McCain campaign lift Georgia speech from Wikipedia? [ThinkProgress]
