Obama Campaign Launches First Positive Ad In The Battle For The White House

By Samantha Abernethy in News on May 7, 2012 5:20PM

This morning Obama for America - the President's Chicago-based re-election team - released a new ad, titled simply "Go." Remarkable in its tone and evocative of Reagan's famous "Morning in America" ad, "Go" is, believe it or not, the first positive paid ad the President's team has released this election cycle. The ad, which represents a significant media buy for OfA will air in targeted markets in Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, giving those of us that watch these sorts of races an idea of where Obama thinks he's competitive this Fall.

Sources say that Chicago dropped $25 million on the ad; for reference, Romney's campaign had but $10 million cash on hand at the end of March. The ad, which opens with a montage of the chaos and uncertainty happening around the nation when Obama first took office, complete with a shot of raging tea partiers in '09, closes with an uplifting message of hope and progress. Narrated in a soothing male voice, the ad reminds voters that:

Some said our best days were behind us. But not him. He believed in us, fought for us. And today our auto industry is back, firing on all cylinders. Our greatest enemy brought to justice by our greatest heroes. Our troops are home from Iraq. Instead of losing jobs, we’re creating them - over 4.2 million so far. We’re not there yet. It’s still too hard for too many, but we’re coming back because America’s greatness comes from a middle class. Because you don’t quit, and neither does he.

Aside from the tone and imagery of the ad, the size of the buy stands out in what may be an election cycle that changes the way people run for president in the United States. While Obama might seem to have the upper hand against the eventual GOP nominee in funding and organization, he'll likely be outspent by the secretive SuperPACs, which have amassed hundreds of millions of dollars to run negative campaign ads against the President as the election draws near.