McCain’s shiny new video
by WonkoKevin
While liberal bloggers were buzzing on, and supportive of, Senator John McCain for his statement that Senator Craig should go, McCain staged a bit of a comeback today with conservative bloggers, getting 18% buzz share from them in Wonkosphere.
Lots of bloggers were dissecting the 12-minute video that is now featured front and center on McCain’s web site. The video extensively covers McCain’s experiences in the Air Force and as a POW. Noting Romney’s parallel release of a new video which features him running, in shorts, Marc Ambinder quipped, “Romney shows legs, McCain shows wounds.” First Read notes that this is but a part of Phase II of McCain’s campaign.
I have to admit–I am torn about what to think of the video. I can safely say that it’s worth watching regardless of your opinion of McCain, simply because it is well-made and interesting. It’s different, for sure: but will it be a big hit or a big flop?
Will a 12-minute video be seen as bold in an age of Politics 2.0–taking the time to tell the story? Or is it a dinosaur in the age of 30-90 second You Tube videos? (McCain does have other 1-2 minute videos on You Tube.) Will the focus on his wartime experiences be seen as positively re-establishing his character, or will it be seen as too much looking backwards rather than forwards? The scene where he discusses a particular pair of interactions with a Vietnamese guard threw my off-base about three times, just because it went where I wasn’t expecting it to–will secular conservatives react differently to this scene than religious conservatives?
We’ll revisit the buzz in another couple of days…
Finally, McCain had some quotable lines in his interview with Jay Leno. Leno asked about the importance of the Internet:
“I think every politician’s worst nightmare is YouTube,” McCain told the host of NBC’s Tonight Show.
“Will there be a McCain Girl?” Leno asked.
“Bea Arthur,” McCain replied.
