Barack Obama thinks it's time for his close-up

It will be hard to avoid Barack Obama tonight.

The Democratic presidential candidate will reign over 30 minutes of prime time on five major television networks, beginning at 8 p.m. PST. As we pointed out last week, not everyone is happy about that.

The ad, which the Obama campaign is calling "Barack Obama: American Stories, American Solutions," will air on NBC, CBS, FOX, BET and Univision. It will air on MSNBC at 5 p.m. PST.

The campaign has just released a one-minute preview of the ad (which you can watch after the jump) and hinted that there will be also be a “live component.” In a statement released Tuesday Obama spokesman Bill Burton said that the ad would make “the same case our campaign is making on the phone, on doorsteps and in our conservations with voters every day.”

So, then, what’s the point?   

Well, there are several, according to David Schwartz, a campaign commercial expert who is the brain behind The Living Room Candidate, an online archive of presidential campaign commercials from 1952-2008. (We talked to Schwartz last week for our look back at the campaign ads of this presidential cycle).

“It shows the incredible advantage . . . .

. . . he has financially,” Schwartz said. And perhaps more importantly, “It means he's going to be controlling the media for that day.”

Schwartz predicted that tonight’s commercial would follow the pattern of Obama’s previous advertisements, many of which have aimed simply to make Americans feel comfortable with the candidate and to make sure the public understands his basic platform.

“Obama has spent a lot of money on these very straightforward, positive ads,” Schwartz said. “Some of (them) seem a little bit dull -– like about healthcare. They’re not thrilling, but these nuts and bolts ads seem to be working.”

Although the ad has gotten a lot of attention, campaign commercials of this nature are not unprecedented. “It's actually kind of a throwback,” Schwartz said. “It used to be that candidates would buy 30 minutes of television on the eve of the election.”

Democrat Adlai Stevenson, who ran for president against Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952, bought 18 blocks of 30 minutes of airtime during the campaign. Stevenson, like Obama, was known for his eloquence (he won the Democratic nomination on the strength of his keynote speech at the national convention). Eisenhower, like Obama’s opponent John McCain, was a war hero. Eisenhower beat Stevenson in a landslide.

For the sake of those Americans who tune in to Obama’s ad tonight, we hope that it will be more sophisticated that the ones Stevenson ran. According to The Living Room Candidate, they “were little more than illustrated radio spots.”

If you'd like to see a less-scripted Obama, you can catch him tonight on ABC World News with Charlie Gibson, as well as “The Daily Show with John Stewart" on Comedy Central.

-- Kate Linthicum

Comments

[gloria]

I saw him on ABC with Charles Gibson and guess what: Gibson didn't have one the intimidating glasses which he had on when he interviewed Sarah Palin. Go figure.....

[Mary L Cooper]

California is on Standard Time already?

[LuckyMe]

It's ridiculous for anyone to spend that much money campaigning, period! All this talk about helping the less fortunate and here they are spending 80 million and a half of a billion... It's an outrage.

[Joe]

> Eisenhower, like Obama’s opponent John McCain, was a war hero. Eisenhower beat Stevenson in a landslide.

And now we get to see the reverse! McCain is the next Goldwater, though I doubt he'll be remembered as fondly.

[captbilly]

For those of you saying that Obama is only doing well because of all the money he has raised I pose the question, how did he raise all of that money? The answer is that he has recieved donations from more people than any candidate for President in history. In the past, and to this day for the Republican ticket, much of the money candidate raised was from a relatively small number of large donors. What Obama has been able to do because of his huge popularity, is raise a huge amount of money from a huge number of small donations.

The significance is that the only people he will be beholding to after the election, are the voters. It is no coincidence that the Republicans continue to push a tax system that clearly favors the extremely rich. Their donors are the extremely rich (and evangelicals, who they also obviously pander to), and they don't donate to campaigns if they don't get something in return. Imagine how much money you would be willing to contribute to a campaign that if successful, would save you millions of billions in taxes.

[gary]

I can not vote for a guy who wasted nearly 600 million on his campaign.

[Ian]

Your comparison of Stevenson and Obama is apt, but Eisenhower and McCain? It's a gross oversimplifciation to just say that both were "war heroes." Eisenhower was a five-star general, commander of all Allied forces in Europe during World War II--kind of a big job. While McCain deserves respect for having been a POW, and later for leading a training squadron, his record as a military leader is a couple of orders of magnitude below Eisenhower's. A better military comparison to McCain would be Bob Dole or the 1st George Bush. Any real distinction for McCain would have come from his Congressional career.

[Karin in Ca]

I can only hope all Americans will tune into this time Barack Obama has put together to help those who say they "don't know who he is." What can it hurt? Our country needs help. Maybe, just maybe, Barack "is the one."

[RM23]

In the end, he can spend all the money he wants, but he is still socialist who is willing to prioritize social engineering over sound economic policy.

Clinton LOWERED the Capital Gains tax and Government Revenue went up. Bush lowered it again, and Government Revenue went up even MORE.

Obama can't pay for his programs without additional revenue, yet he is willing to sacrifice revenue for the PRINCIPLE of "taxing the rich".

Astonishing!

That, plus toasting PLO dudes and writing blurbs for Ayers, and, well, he doesn't look so good to me anymore...

[Matericia]

I, who never donated to a campaigh in my life, am one of the first million who supported Obama. Over the last 20 months I have contributed $25.00 at key moments.

I am the mother of a Marine Corps Sergeant. I first came to this campaign because of his stance on war during my son's deployment to the Al-Anbar Province in Iraq. My son is now fine, on inactive duty but still has a contract till 2010. With all my research and investment I can say without hesitation that I would be proud to have this man as my son's Commander-in-Chief .

We, the People are finally being asked to step up and circumvent the old politics that have dominated our collective lives for too long. We, the People funded his campaign in by giving our own little mites and have seen this man take our trust and not break it once.

[Larry]

THERE IS A WAY TO AVOID THE ADD. KEEP THE BOOB TUBE OFF.

[gefitz]

You mean, media content in which the candidate actually talks about the issues at hand MIGHT BE WORKING?!?! SHOCKING!

[lightnin]

Jeremiah Wright - Obama's "pastor" ("God damn America!", "America invented
the Aids virus to kill people of color!"), Obama campaign's "Spiritual Advisor"

Louis Farrakhan - Head of "Black Muslim" church, "Lifetime Achievement Award"
from Obama's "church"

"Father" Phleger - White clone of Wright, also connected to Obama

Tony Rezko - Obama benefactor ($1.6 million, iffy real estate deals), convicted criminal

William Ayers & Bernadine Dohrne - Founded "Weathermen", Bombed Capital
and Pentagon, some Weathermen bombs killed people, Ayers said in 2004
he wished they had done more bombing, photographed trampling American
Flag underfoot and grinning, (Obama's friends, worked together on committees,
Obama declared his Senate candidacy from Ayers living room)
(Obama says he "thought Ayers had been rehabilitated."!)

Rashid Khalidi - PLO connections, anti-Israel, friend of Obama's, Ayers and Dohrne

Mazen Asbahi - Hamas connections (was Obama's "Islamic Advisor", had to quit
when found out.)

Obama - FOR Partial-Birth Abortion, AGAINST the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act,
(which protects babies that survive an abortion attempt from being killed or left
to die!)
Stated that mothers should have a period of time after a baby is born to decide
if they want it killed! Doesn't want his daughters "punished with a baby".
Painted over the American Flags on his campaign plane
Worked for ACORN as lawyer and trainer, gave them $800,000 recently
Very short experience, very little accomplishment
Most liberal Senator or Representative there is
Voted with party 97.5% of the time, no record of "Working Across the Aisle"
FOR "Wealth Redistribution"/Socialism

And you don't think there's "Reasonable Doubt" about him?

[Barry]

i thought Obamas 30 mints was the same old thing. nothing new. he says a lot but doesn't really tell you everything like always.He just showed us he loves the lime light. The persident isn't a star he needs to do his work but i think Obama will always try and be in the lime light. He is a actor and speaks good but thats abut it. He doesn't really care about the poor or he wouldn't have asked for more money when he has so much now he can't spend it all.He is for himself and money. people are so blind they just don't see it.

[Lola]

Go Obama....it's time America gets the President they deserve! We've declared victory! Check out http://www.str33tcouture.com

[Joe the Farmer]

I guess America can be bought.

[joe bottomly]

Summary of Obama tonigh: blah, blah, blah...nothing new. Why won't he hold a press conference...I think he's hiding in front of the teleprompter!

[Thrasybulos]

A close up? Indeed...! If it were time for a close up of Mr. Barack Obama, then your paper, the LA Times, would release for public scrutiny the tape showing Obama at Mr Rashid Khalidi's going away party in 2003. Not only did he toast the anti-Israel mouthpiece, he also apparently yucked it up over a tasteless "poem" delivered there. And who else what there...? None other than Bill Ayers, the man Obama claimed not to have known except on a superficial and formal basis. LA Times, you should be ashamed of yourselves. You are a discredit to your profession and to free and open societies everywhere and always. Pathetic.

[David]

It's hilarious watching the last stubborn holdouts for MCCain/Palin whine and cry about the unfairness of the destruction of the NeoCon run Republican Party. Here's an infomercial for you: This is a democracy, and the PEOPLE are about to toss the bums out in a humiliating rejection of current Republican policy. Deal with it, you lost, and badly. This thing is over. Your master's grip on power is slipping. A new day is dawning, at last.

You would have been better off with Ron Paul.

[independentvoter13]

Wow.. we have some real intellectuals on this post. I thought it was great. I'm glad to see my donations went towards putting a light on the middle class and NOT Fancy expensive clothes...Well done Obama.

[Dayo]

I think this has all got to do with RACE. MOST peopl are against OBAMA simply because of his COLOUR. Most americans belive i should only be whites that can rule AMERICA.........NEVER!!!!!!!!!!..........Lets give other people a chance ...........OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rickey]

barack obama rules

[SaSa]

Thrasybulos.... I don't know if you've heard but, it was confirmed yesterday that McCain is on the chair of a group that provided 450,000 in funds for Rashid Khalidi's group! Stop making excuses for McCain. Go Obama!