McCain-Palin 2008 

"Folks"
30-second ad run nationally, announced Oct. 8, 2008. 



More ads
[Music] Male Announcer: Who is Barack Obama?

The National Journal says he's the Senate's most liberal.


How extreme. 

But when pressed, how does he defend himself?


Obama (clip 1): They're not telling the truth.

Obama (clip 2): I hate to say that people are lying, but here's a situation where folks are lying.

Announcer: Mr. Obama, we all know the truth.

[Static SFX] Obama (clip 2): ...folks are lying.

[Static SFX] Obama (clip 2): ...folks are lying.

Announcer: Not presidential.

McCain (voiceover): I'm John McCain and I approve this message.


Notes:  According to FactCheck.org, "The ad is misleading regarding the 'most liberal' claim, and simply false in the way it twists Obama's own words."  FactCheck.org points out that the National Journal "most liberal" designation was for 2007 only, rather than for Obama's Senate career; the Obama campaign also points to missed votes.  Worse is the use of the two Obama clips which are taken completely out of context from interviews on other subjects.  The second Obama clip is from a Christian Broadcasting Network Aug. 16, 2008 interview where Obama was responding to a question about the born alive infant protection act.  In an interesting postscript, YouTube later took down the "Folks" video and posted a note that, "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc."