2008 Obama VS. McCain

"What's the Difference"

Transcript

Museum of the Moving Image
The Living Room Candidate
"What's the Difference," SEIU, 2008

(Jazz music)

[TEXT: W admits the economy is in trouble]

FEMALE NARRATOR: He admits the economy is in trouble.

[TEXT: M says the fundamentals of our economy are strong]

FEMALE NARRATOR: He says the fundamentals of our economy are strong.

[TEXT: W created tax breaks for the rich]

FEMALE NARRATOR: He created tax breaks for the rich.

[TEXT: M wants to make them permanent]

FEMALE NARRATOR: He wants to make them permanent.

[TEXT: W increased the minimum wage]

FEMALE NARRATOR: He increased the minimum wage.

[TEXT: M voted against it 19 times]

FEMALE NARRATOR: He voted against it 19 times.

FEMALE NARRATOR [and TEXT]: Worst ever? Maybe not. John McCain: Bush, but worse.

Credits

"What's the Difference," SEIU (Service Employees International Union), 2008

Original air date: 10/16/08

From Museum of the Moving Image, The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2012.
www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2008/whats-the-difference (accessed July 6, 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.