New Bush/Cheney Ad

Considering that the new Bush/Cheney ad, entitled "Victory," is really just an assertion of the simple message that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are attempting to spread freedom throughout a freedom-challenged region of the world, which was the real reason for the Iraq War even if it's the only reason they didn't cite when selling it, the ad is really all over the map, primarily because they're doggone determined to tie the message to the Olympics.

Maybe it's the awkward transition from the grainy wideshots of the 1972 Olympics opening ceremony ("In 1972 there were only 40 democracies...") to the brightly colored close-up of female swimmers diving into a pool ("...today 120"); maybe it's the seemingly random choice to have the entire rest of the ad feature the image of a young female swimmer shot from various angles swimming the butterfly -- you see, she's like a butterfly, man, a butterfly is free, and the water, it represents the world, and... unh?; maybe it's the use of such copywriting 101 classics as the simile ("freedom is spreading throughout the world like a sunrise" - no, I'm not joking) and alliteration ("hope will triumph over hatred"). Whatever it is, the ad as a whole leaves me just sort of befuddled when the central message of the ad ("and this Olympics, there will be two more free nations, and two fewer terrorist regimes") should have been a homerun.

Keep it up, Georgie. Keep it up.