I don't see how this ad could help Obama -- he doesn't have any more executive or business experience than Hillary. It's obvious to anyone watching this ad that if Obama gets the nomination Romney will be able to, and will, run exactly the same kind of ad against him.
All you can say regarding this ad's implications for Obama is that it drives up HRC's negatives. I can tell you it's on all the time, but I don't think it'll make any real difference.
Hurts Hillary's numbers by discrediting her claims to experience, so it helps Obama in that regard. Any fence sitters thinking "Obama's got hope/charisma/etc. but Hillary's got experience-oh, maybe not" might be swayed.
Romney's message would have to be attuned so that Obama wouldn't be able to say that the same criticisms were made of JFK, thus allowing him to further associate himself with the JFK nostalgia.
It's a really stupid ad, and the fact that Romney is spending so much on it is emblematic of how tone deaf his whole campaign is.
Having said that, I think it does hurt Hillary a bit, not because it credibly makes the claim that she lacks experience (it doesn't), but because it reminds all voters that the Republicans would much rather run against her than against Obama.
Marc Ambinder, an Atlantic associate editor, blogs about politics and Washington. He might also write the occasional post about aviation, national security, and cognitive neuroscience. Mostly politics, though.
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I wonder if these ads don't help Obama more than anyone else, especially with independents.
Posted by matthewcc | February 2, 2008 5:29 PM