Boring in America

I doubt George W. Bush's latest brace of TV ads are going to do much to move red America to blue or vice versa, or whatever the hell that simplistic color deal is supposed to connote. You knew Bush couldn't ignore 9/11 completely and the imagery used in the ads is not obviously exploitive, more of a mnemonic device for viewers of short-attention spans.

And although the Bush ads clearly try to build on Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" template, something is missing, perhaps the newness of Reagan's optimism. Worst of all, the ads are dragged down by that McCain-Feingold abomination, the "candidate approval" bit. That's where the candidate in question has to show his or her face and actually say something in their own voice.

Recall that this was written into law in the belief that the dolts we've given the franchise to, the very well-spring of our self-government, the seed-corn of American democracy, are too fucking stupid to tell who a political ad is for or against.

For the record, George W. Bush approves these ads. What a great election year it is going to be.