Hillary Clinton's Texas Ad: Barack Obama Fires Back and a Voter Responds

The television viewer sees a shot of sleeping children. Children who are sleeping comfortably in their beds as their mother checks on them. In the background a phone starts to ring. A narrator talks about leadership experience. In particular leadership experience in the White House and who would be more qualified in the case of a national emergency.

Then comes the money shot. It's Hillary Clinton, and she's answering the phone. The narrator says "It's 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?"

During Barrack Obama's Texas campaign Houston's KHOU Radio quoted Barrack Obama as saying that Hillary Clinton's Texas television ad is being used to "scare up" votes. The ad in question started airing in Texas on the morning of February 29.

Speaking about the ad in a speech he gave to veterans and their families on Friday, February 29, Obama said, "We've seen these ads before. They're the kind that play on peoples' fears to scare up votes. Well, it won't work this time."

As a someone interested in who our next president may be, I have seen the ad numerous times and seen Barrack Obama's response on KHOU. I have to say that Barrack Obama's new tactics are starting to really bother me. Obama claims that this kind of a ad is a "scare tactic", that it plays on fear. Why didn't I see it that way? Clinton was merely highlighting her experience over Obama's, which I think she has a right to do. I think Obama's intentions are to portray Clinton as unfairly attacking him. That doesn't really reflect the tenor of her ad at all.

And something else about Obama's comments to the vets were troubling. Speaking about the ad Obama said, "We've had a red phone moment. It was the decision to invade Iraq. And Senator Clinton gave the wrong answer. George Bush gave the wrong answer. John McCain gave the wrong answer."
Obama stated in 2002 he took a stand "and said that a war in Iraq would cost us thousands of lives and billions of dollars. I said that it would distract us from the real threat we face and that we should take the fight to al-Qaida in Afghanistan. That's the judgment I made on the most important foreign policy decision of our generation, and that's the kind of judgment I'll show when I answer that phone in the White House as President of the United States."

A lot of people gave the wrong answer, but if you look at Obama's response he gave the right answer but for the wrong reasons. He made his choice on a self-serving political basis, at least so it seems. Doesn't it sure seem like in 2002 Obama was saying no to Iraq but yes to any plans to send troops to Afghanistan. I can't help but thinking he was just playing both sides of the fence and I don't appreciate that. Sure, Clinton voted yes on Iraq and it hasn't turned out well. But saying no to Iraq but yes to Afghanistan when you know an full blown occupation of Afghanistan is not even a real possibility just offends me a little bit. I couldn't help think that Obama was trying to manipulate us.

If Mr. Obama doesn't think experience matters in this Presidential race then he's entitled to that opinion but I think his response to the ad was a missed opportunity. He could have found a much better way to express his views on experience than simply saying he's being attacked and Clinton is using fear tactics. I think Hillary Clinton will surprise Obama in Texas partly for this reason. Obama is starting to overact I think Obama is going too far in distorting what Clinton is doing and I believe many people may just let him know that this week.