Obama and McCain Use Debate Footage in Ads

Within hours, McCain and Obama released ads using moments from their first debate. McCain's Web ad edited together passages where Obama said he agreed with John McCain. Shortly after this, the Obama campaign released a TV ad focusing on the candidate's concern for the middle class. The McCain ad is somewhat mistifying. As Jed Lewison noted in a brief post in The Huffington Post called "The Most Stupidest McCain ad Ever:" "John McCain is running a new campaign ad that actually attacks Barack Obama for agreeing with John McCain. This has to be the first time in history that a candidate ever went negative on his opponent for being too agreeable. If the ad had a lighthearted, funny tone I think it could work. But instead, it is angry and sneering, just like John McCain."

McCain Web ad, "McCain is right:"

Obama ad "Zero:"

In 2004, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Commission on Presidential Debates and the Bush and Kerry campaigns in 2004 forbade either candidate from using any audio excerpts or video footage from the debates. Here is the relevant clause: "Neither film footage nor video footage nor any audio excerpts from the debates may be used publicly by either candidate's campaign through any means, including but not limited to, radio, television, internet, or videotapes, whether broadcast or distributed in any other manner."

One reason for restricting use of debate footage is to avoid manipulative ads such as the one below. In 1988, the Bush campaign created an attack ad using footage from one of the debates, adding a laugh track and a freeze-frame, both designed to ridicule Dukakis.