By the time President Obama left Montana on Saturday, the Bozeman media market had been saturated with an advertisement opposing his health care plan — hard for anyone to miss since it ran 115 times in 36 hours on network and cable television channels.
“Say no to government-run health care,” a narrator says in the advertisement by a conservative group that particularly went after the idea of a government insurance option.
The spot, timed in advance of Mr. Obama’s visit, is part of a cascade of advertising swamping the airwaves across the country as the health care fight has become a full-blown national political campaign, replete with battleground states, polling, leafleting, fractious town-hall-style meetings, op-ed articles, talking points and videos.
Interest groups on all sides of the debate have spent more than $57 million on television advertisements in six months, most of it in the last 45 days, said Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks television advertisements.
“It’s the most we’ve seen this quick,” Mr. Tracey said. “If it goes on all year, we’re looking at one of the biggest public policy ad wars ever.”
[More]
Updates:
4:33 pm EDT, August 15th, 2009 — Obama’s Healthcare Credibility ‘Shot,’ Critics Say
4:36 pm EDT, August 15th, 2009 — Palin Wins
4:38 pm EDT, August 15th, 2009 – Obama Rips Media Over Healthcare Protests
4:44 pm EDT, August 15th, 2009 — Steyn: You’ve Had a Good Innings
6:08 pm EDT, August 15th, 2009 — Palin continues Facebook attacks on healthcare
Odd the Steyn article used the example of a knee replacement. Yesterday’s news was about a man in the Fraser Valley Health Bureaucracy Area (Vancouver) who was hauled off the operating table because there was no money to actually do the scheduled knee replacement operation. Also announced is a 10% cut back on operations – I guess we now have Palin’s “death panels”; but hey! We all have to sacrifice our BC’s Bread-and-Circus government masters.
“TV loves a ruckus,” Obama said. “What you haven’t seen on TV and what makes me proud are the many constructive meetings going on all over the country.”
I wonder how much his “bought & paid for” crowds at these “constructive” meetings cost? Apparently “constructive” is code for “those who disagree will be beaten by union thugs”…
Re: 32 — “TV loves a ruckus”…
“Yup”…and here comes a dandy.
The NOAA is predicting a below-average hurricane season… but it only takes one…