2008 Obama VS. McCain

"Punished"

Transcript

Museum of the Moving Image
The Living Room Candidate
"Punished," Let Freedom Ring, 2008

WOMAN: Senator Obama, I'm afraid. In March, you told America:

[TEXT: MARCH 2008]

OBAMA: I've got two daughters. If they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.

WOMAN: Punished? I'm afraid because I'm a mother. And I can't imagine what this country would become if its President could look on a baby as a punishment. And I'm afraid because those children that you spoke of as a punishment would be your very own grandchildren.

(Baby laughing)

MALE NARRATOR: What happens when we elect a President who has disregard for human life? Please, America, let's never find out.

[TEXT: neverfindout.org]

Credits

"Punished," Let Freedom Ring, 2008

Original air date: 10/23/08

From Museum of the Moving Image, The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2012.
www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2008/punished (accessed May 24, 2025).

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2008 Obama McCain Results

The 2008 election, which resulted in the selection of the first African-American president in the nation's history, was about change. Polls indicated that more than 80 percent of likely voters felt that the country was on the wrong track or moving in the wrong direction. For the first time since 1952, there were no candidates on either major-party ticket who have served as president or vice president.

As in 2004, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were important issues, yet foreign policy was strongly overshadowed by the economy when the credit and mortgage crisis hit full force in September. Other economic concerns included health-care costs, energy policy, gas prices, and rising unemployment. From the primary campaigns into the general-election contest, candidates positioned themselves as agents of change. Normally it is the party out of power in the White House that calls for change. In 2008, both parties claimed to offer “change,” as opposed to “more of the same.”

The candidates made these claims in an ad war that was unprecedented in its quantity and cost. Ads were created in rapid-response fashion, timed for the increasingly fast-paced news cycle. Also, as a reflection of the shift in popular culture toward the provocative tone of the Internet, which relies on bold statements and humor to inspire “forwardability,” the 2008 ads were noticeably sharper and more aggressive than that of previous elections.