It’s yet another sign of Iowa’s status as one of the "battleground" states in the fall election. Both major party candidates are running television advertising in Iowa.
Sources indicate Obama is "up" in the following markets: Des Moines; Quad Cities; Sioux City; Omaha, Nebraska (which reaches west & southwest Iowa); Rochester, Minnesota (which reaches Mason City & northern Iowa); and Ottumwa.
McCain is "up" in the following markets: Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities, Sioux City, Rochester, Minnesota.
Comparing the two lists, you’ll see McCain’s ad buy skips the Ottumwa & Omaha markets Obama is in BUT McCain is up in Cedar Rapids; Obama is not. As you likely know, Cedar Rapids is cleaning up after a devastating flood. There still are people there who do not have electricity in their business or home yet. Others are too busy cleaning up and dealing with contractors and trying to deal with the necessities of life that they aren’t watching TV. Todd Dorman of the Cedar Rapids Gazette tells me, though, that there are televisions in the Red Cross shelter where about 100 people are still camped out because their homes were destroyed by the flood waters. If McCain intends to keep running ads in Cedar Rapids, maybe someone on his staff should call FEMA just to make sure those FEMA trailers on their way to Cedar Rapids are equipped with televisions.
Or maybe this is John McCain’s way of helping the local economy, by spending money in Cedar Rapids.
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
John McCain is out of touch with the citizens of eastern Iowa. McCain opposed funding in the U.S. Senate last year for new levees and flood control projects in Iowa.
On August 29, 2005, the day Katrina hit New Orleans, McCain was on a tarmac at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, greeting President Bush with a cake in celebration of McCain’s 69th birthday. In 2006, McCain voted against appropriating supplemental emergency funding, including hurricane relief for New Orleans.
McCain should put more energy into his ideas. A gas-tax holiday would do nothing to lower the price of oil. A cash prize for a car battery would do nothing to spur innovation. Nuclear energy might be a good source for electric power. Obama also supports that, and was the only candidate in the Democratic field to suggest that expansion of nuclear power should be on the table as part of a broader discussion on energy policy. But, while McCain has suggested that he would build 45 new reactors, he wont tell people where he plans put the waste, and the way he talks you would think nuclear power might reduce our dependence on oil. It wont. It’s just another of his gimmicks.
Wow, running Political ads in a Flood Zone… that’s bad politics. They really don’t have time for Politics when they’re trying to find a roof for their head.
Or maybe this is a sign of a poorly run campaign on McCains part. Why else would you invest limited resources when your potential outreach is less then ideal due to the floods?
In McCain’s defense, the Cedar Rapids TV stations can be seen as far north as New Hampton, nearly 100 miles north of the city.
Of course, many of the areas in the Cedar Rapids market (Mason City, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, etc.) also got badly hit by the floods.
I respect and honor McCain as a fine and brave American who should live forever in our hearts…
“Comparing the two lists, you’ll see McCain’s ad buy skips the Ottumwa & Omaha markets Obama is in BUT McCain is up in Cedar Rapids; Obama is not. As you likely know, Cedar Rapids is cleaning up after a devastating flood. There still are people there who do not have electricity in their business or home yet. Others are too busy cleaning up and dealing with contractors and trying to deal with the necessities of life that they aren’t watching TV.”
“A gas-tax holiday would do nothing to lower the price of oil. A cash prize for a car battery would do nothing to spur innovation. Nuclear energy might be a good source for electric power. Obama also supports that, and was the only candidate in the Democratic field to suggest that expansion of nuclear power should be on the table as part of a broader discussion on energy policy. But, while McCain has suggested that he would build 45 new reactors, he wont tell people where he plans put the waste, and the way he talks you would think nuclear power might reduce our dependence on oil. It wont. It’s just another of his gimmicks.”
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Great display of leadership and fiscal responsibility and judgment. *SIGH*
Regarding Sen. McCain’s votes on the supplementals you mention, the facts are that McCain tried to prioritize relief so that the areas most in need to re-build levees would get the money from the federal government first. Claire McCaskill and Russ Feingold also supported these amendments.
Unless our government starts to prioritize and stops mixing spending on critically important projects like levees with spending on bridges to nowhere or museums dedicated to Woodstock we will never get accountability from our congressmen nor will our levees be properly constructed.
We need more of our congressmen to stand up to this I’ll wash your back if you wash mine type of politics. Instead we seem to applaud those who lie to us our faces from one month to the next get elected.
As for nuclear power, there is a difference between paying lip service to an issue and admitting that we need 45 new reactors to power our country. Sen McCain supports using Yucca Mountain as a waste site. Unlike Sen Obamba who mentions nuclear power but then opposes using Yucca and offers no alternatives to storing the waste. Some solution.
Moreover, at least we can cite a few of McCain’s tangible plans, can anyone name any viable Obama plans?
For the last 15 years we have tried to conserve our way to energy independence. It has not worked world economic growth and demand has exceeded supply. It is time for us to start drilling for our own petroleum. As the world economy grows we have to contribute to the manufacture of plastics for vaccines, cars, trucks, bicycles. computers, clothing, packaging for relief supplies and building.
AS for the political advertising, perhaps instead of rejecting $85 mil in public financing, Sen Obama could take it and advertise in the non-flood areas that people should take their contributions to him and send them instead to the Red Cross. Instead, we applaud him for soliciting money to pay off Clinton campaign debts and to hire more PR handlers for his very rich campaign at a time when the Red Cross is running low on relief funds.
Although Iowa was razor thin close in 2000 and 2004 there is no evidence it will be in 2008. Not a single poll has had McCain in ahead and few within the margin of error. The organization Obama built before the caucuses lives (frequent meetings of supporters more campaign staff than ever at this stage of the game…)
I suspect the McCain ad buy here and in other states is simply an attempt to see what sticks. I’d bet good money McCain abandons this state before the summer is over.
Our great days as a swing state getting attention are about to be over.