Tom Cruise?  Try James Garner.

Wow, McCain is the ORIGINAL maverick?  Just how old is he?!

I like it, ratnerstar.

So he's the original hot-headed punk who causes his best friend to crash and die, and who beds his instructor?  Me, I wouldn't have gone down this particular road, but then I'm not a 71-yo hoping relying on a 25-yo movie to pump up my sagging political fortunes.

It's not a bad ad, but it seems to me that it leaves McCain open to a devastating counterattack.  McCain has now basically staked his "maverick" reputation on his opposition to the Bush administration and dissatisfaction with the last four years.  That would be fine if he hadn't spent the last eighteen months pandering to the far right and adopting and endorsing the policies of the Bush administation, not to mention endorsing George W. Bush in 2004.  

It wouldn't surprise me to see the Beltway media forget about McCain's rightward tacking during the primaries, but I sure hope that the Obama campaign won't make the same mistake.

Oh, evangelicals are going to love this. Wasn't Jesus the original maverick?

Obama's next ad:

"We're worse off than we were four years ago." Pause. [clip]: "I worked hard to get President Bush elected in 2000, and then in 2004; I campaigned for him everywhere." [nervous, almost manic, laughter, shifting eyes] Voiceover: "The original maverick, or the original flip-flopper?"

Play the contradictory clips back to back over and over again.  Then do it again.   And again.  One more time.  Give nobody any room to think of McCain as anything but a confused old man.  It's time to get serious, people.

Very good ad. "Ready to Lead" is a great line. Unfortunately for Obama, McCain's positioning himself against the incompetence of Bush rather than against the inexperience of Obama. I was hoping he'd keep up the attack on Obama. This anti-oil, anti-Bush stance is very effective. Leading with the right profile on the left side of the screen is also strong.

Let's hope McCain goes back to the snarky, tacky stuff, more Paris Hilton, less the distancing from Bush. If he takes on his base, he could win. Let's hope as the election draws near that Limbaugh and the other right wingers come out strongly for him, pushing moderates and independents into the Obama fold.

That appearance at Sturgis was too cute by half, just the thing that will get Obama elected. Hope this anti-Bush spot is just a fluke.

BUFFOONERY....Does John McCain really claim that he's the guy who will "battle big oil"? With a straight face? I guess you have to admire the chutzpah, if nothing else. On the other hand, Barack Obama's light-hearted take on the GOP's...