McCain mocked the ad, calling it a reminder that Obama broke a promise to accept federal financing of his campaign. McCain's dependence on federal money has left him severely constrained against Obama's ad blitz.
"When you're watching this gauzy, feel-good commercial, just remember that it was paid for with broken promises," McCain said.
Obama's words addressed a continued concern in his campaign that some voters remain unsure about his background, experience and proposals. Threaded through his policy prescriptions were references to his family background: his World War II veteran grandfather, Rosie-the-Riveter grandmother and a Midwestern-bred mother who would wake him at 4:30 a.m. for school lessons.
"In six days, we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels our prosperity, starting with the middle class," he said at the end of the program.
The 30-minute national ad is not an original concept. A star turn in a similar commercial for Barry Goldwater in 1964 helped propel Ronald Reagan into the California governor's office two years later. More recently, George H.W. Bush, Michael S. Dukakis and Ross Perot used extended ads. In this campaign, however, Obama was doing it alone, because he alone could afford it.
"If you have the money, you spend it," USC political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said.
Though the program closed with a plea for votes, it served other purposes. Obama partisans held watch parties; in Los Angeles more than 100 people gathered to make thousands of phone calls to voters in Nevada, Missouri, New Mexico and Montana.
"We're in the turnout phase of the campaign," Democratic strategist Bill Carrick said. He said voters who watched the program might respond more positively because of the unexpected format.
"The mere fact that he's willing to talk longer, to be on longer, gives him more credibility," he said.
Americans may be near the saturation point when it comes to the presidential race, but the stark reality for both candidates is that the days until Nov. 4 are running down, and with them options for changing the trajectory. One of the side benefits to Obama's media splash Wednesday was that it overshadowed McCain for the day, analysts said.
"It's blocking out McCain," Wisconsin advertising specialist Goldstein said. "It's not so much about what [the ad] says good about Obama. John McCain has six days to disqualify Obama. It's like the end of the football game and Obama is running out the clock."
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cathleen.decker@latimes.com
