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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > February > 12 > Entry
Eye on Ohio: Barack Obama’s “Mother” ad
Obama ad tackles a thorny issue: health care
THE AD:
“Mother,” 30-second TV commercial.
WHERE TO SEE IT:
Starting Tuesday on broadcast TV.
Continue reading for the ad’s script, a description and analysis from The Plain Dealer.
SCRIPT:
Obama: My mother died of cancer at 53. In those last painful months, she was more worried about paying her medical bills than getting well.
I hear stories like hers every day.
For 20 years, Washington’s talked about health care reform and reformed nothing.
I’ve got a plan to cut costs and cover everyone. But, unless we stop the bickering and the lobbyist, we’ll be in the same place 20 years from now.
I’m Barack Obama and I approved this message because to fix health care, we have to fix Washington.”
VIDEO:
The color video opens with a young looking mother holding a happy, smiling child. Yes, it’s a shot of Barack with baby teeth and his mother.
With present day Obama as narrator, the candidate outlines a few snippets of his health care plan.
The scenes faded into several shots with Obama chatting alone with older adults.
Graphics labeled The Obama Plan say ‘Universal coverage for all Americans’ and ‘Saves typical family $2,500.’ Viewers are directed to his website BarackObama.com/healthcare for more details.
Another graphic tells viewers “Vote March 4 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.” — the polling hours in Ohio.
ANALYSIS:
Obama started his ads in Ohio on cable. In this first ad on free TV, Obama tackles a thorny issue.
Obama appears to be attempting to get in front of challenger Hillary Clinton by quickly presenting his health care plan to Ohio voters in the early days leading to the pivotal March primary for Democrats.
Hillary Clinton, while First Lady, began a bid for a type of national health insurance about 15 years ago, albeit unsuccessful.
Obama needs to look like he’s got his own plan.
But, Obama himself has conceded that his plan and the proposal from Clinton are very similar. At the January debate in Los Angeles, Obama said his plan is about 95% like Clinton’s.
For example, independent analysts have said Clinton’s proposal is estimated to save $2,200, according to factcheck.org., a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
Key difference: His plan would not be universal because it does not mandate that everyone enrolls.
While the Obama website on health care offers good detail, is it unfair to expect some detail in these 30-second spots?
Because we don’t think so, let’s say this ad has a whiff of doubt.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Eye on Ohio
Comments
By maggiesanger
February 14, 2008 12:22 AM | Link to this
Obama’s plan, which would make participation voluntary, is worse than Clinton’s proposal, which would make participation mandatory. Why? If young and healthy people opt out, the costs are higher for those who choose to be responsible and purchase insurance.By David Esrati
February 12, 2008 4:25 PM | Link to this
Since Hillary couldn’t get her health care plan passed the first time- why would she succeed now? A lot will depend on who the candidate has to work with- if Turner stays in office, that’s one less vote for making change happen. Jessica- how come I’ve had ads out for a month- and you haven’t posted a one? Waiting for Mitakides to catch up?By Jessica
February 12, 2008 3:30 PM | Link to this
Hey, Lorin, Thanks for the question. To answer it, this is part of the “Eye on Ohio” series that we are working on with the Cleveland and Columbus papers. We wanted to post the Hillary ad as soon as we got it, as we similarly posted on Obama’s ad as soon as we got it yesterday. But we will also post an in-depth analysis of the Clinton ad very soon as part of the “Eye on Ohio” series, just as we’ve done with the Obama ad. Thanks for your interest and for making sure we’re on our toes….By Lorin
February 12, 2008 2:55 PM | Link to this
I couldn’t help but notice Hillary’s ad did not receive an analysis and also contained zero substance. Barack’s health care is better because it contains no mandates. I’m still waiting for Hillary to answer my question………”Are you really going to garnishee my wages and force your health care on me when I can’t afford it?”