Fan Club
Jake Tapper of ABC News counts the number of young white women professing their adoration of Sen. Obama in Sen. McCain’s latest web ad, called “Hot Chicks Dig Obama”.
His count? Four.
Just for kicks, I decided to find out whether Tapper was just being selective in his reporting. Four white women might not be all that important if there are lots of other people featured in the ad. So I watched the ad closely, and here’s what I found.
Black Females: 1
White Females: 6
White Males: 2
Now let’s look behind the numbers.
The first person who appears in the ad is a black female news anchor. She’s in the shot only briefly and isn’t fawning over Obama.
The second person who appears is a white (or perhaps Latino) male who says that he almost cried when Obama gave him an autograph. For whatever it’s worth, this guy sets off my gaydar bigtime. He’s featured very prominently in the ad.
The next shot is bizarre. It’s of an overweight, middle-aged white woman who appears to be giving some kind of salute in the back of a gymnasium. I can’t understand what she’s saying. Seated next to her are another white woman and a middle-aged white man — perhaps her family.
Then we get our first closeup of a nubile white woman. She compares Obama to Bono and comes across as a little ditzy. She’s blonde.
Next up is a young white woman who works at Taco Bell. She’s not even talking about Obama. She says something about being busy. She has a nice smile, but the statement seems a little vapid. We can’t see what color her hair is.
Next is a young white woman (blond) talking about Obama’s aura.
Then a young white woman with brown hair talking about his “soft eyes.” There’s another young woman standing next to her while she says this. That woman is licking her lips as her friends talks about Obama.
The next shot is a white man holding up a button to the camera and delivering the ad’s tagline: “Hot Chicks Love Obama.” This guy almost doesn’t count because the shot is so quick and you can barely see him. He’s almost completely obscured by the button.
The ad closes with Mike Meyers and Dana Carvy, in character as Wayne and Garth, saying “we’re not worthy.” I didn’t count them in my tally of white guys.
Although there are some white guys and a black woman in the ad, this spot is really all about the gay dude and white chicks who dig Obama.
I know from personal experience that black and brown chicks dig Obama, too. So I’m left to wonder: why is it that the McCain campaign seems to want to associate Obama with young, nubile, white women (and a gay man)?
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