Tuesday marks the first day of the televised leg of the 2008 Republican primary in the Kansas 2nd Congressional District- with our first ad coming in from Frm. Congressman Jim Ryun:
Talk about an ad without worthwhile content. After a decade in Congress and one would have hoped, for his sake, a laundry list of accomplishments, the only thing Jim Ryun wants to tell the Republican primary voters in his former district is that he used to be a runner and he participated in the Olympics 30 years ago?
Biographical ads are all well and good- if no one has ever heard of you. But Jim Ryun is basically the incumbent Republican in this race- how could a man who received the Republican nomination in five separate cycles not be- so he has absolutely no business trying to bowl voters voter with shiny happy "I used to be a track hero" ads.
Ryun's made this mistake before, of course- focusing on everything but what people really care about- what he has done for them. Maybe he never, ever talks about his time in Congress because he'd really rather people forget he ever even was in Congress- and that he took money from Tom Delay and that he got a sweetheart deal on a townhouse in DC from friends of Jack Abramhoff, and maybe he'd like everyone to forget he sat on his hands while budgets ballooned and illegal immigrants entered the country unabated.
Or maybe he just didn't do anything at all while he was in Washington. Either way...he'd rather talk about running thank you very much.
Regardless of why he's made the bad choice he has made, if Ryun honestly wants people to trust him again, he's going to have to do a lot more than just smile and warm-fuzzy them to the polls.
As a side note: Does anyone else get the sense the ad is indirectly referring to Ryun's loss to Congresswoman Nancy Boyda when it says he has the "determination to get back up, even after a fall," and then to Lynn Jenkins when the announcer says Jim never allows "obstacles to stand in his way"? Just a thought...that's how it struck us.
5 comments:
Production Quality: B+
Content: C-
"Biographical ads are all well and good- if no one has ever heard of you. But Jim Ryun is basically the incumbent Republican in this race"
Huh?...the incumbent's blog is calling the former Congressman the "incumbent?" I would think NB would be less than anxious to share that title...could it be she fears it won't be hers much longer anyway?
Ryun is the incumbent in the Republican primary. Not in the general. This will be the 7th consecutive year he has run for the seat as a Republican.
Ryun is the incumbent in the Republican primary. Not in the general. This will be the 7th consecutive year he has run for the seat as a Republican.
exactly. thank you.
Jim try the Budweiser frogs in your commercials; they may not have a great message either but al least they are interesting
Post a Comment