"What can Herman Cain have been thinking," the lamestream are scratching their heads, shocked, shocked at what subliminal messages may be lurking within Herman Cain's new "I am America" ad.
"LOVE @THEHermanCain's cigarette ad. MSNBC going berserk but covering it," we just twittered:
Two messages: Get the nanny state off my back; Obama lies, smokes & denies.
"We can do this. We can take this country back," says Herman Cain's chief of staff Mark Block in the Herminator's controversial new ad. Update: Mark Block is a charmer. Tells Megyn Kelly there was "no subliminal message," just connecting with real Americans: … the Cain Train is on a roll … the Cain message is resonating with Main Street America." Why no traditional organization? "It's a people's campaign. It has grown from the ground up."
Ed Driscoll just retweeted us, so we must be onto something. Willy Geist on MSNBC's "Way Too Early" is blustering with righteous indignation. What kind of a message is that to send our children? Light[en] up, friend. We're not a smoker, but some of our best friends are. Beyond that, get off our back, Big Government elitists who know better than we what's best for us. Authenticity and responsibility for our own life choices: There's a message for our children. Spin at will.
Update: Smitty at The Other McCain makes a fine point:
Great ad, but the smoking at the end makes little sense, except to floutaunt the rules. And if you’re going to do that, why not play the Ladd Ehlinger card?
And from Mark Hemingway on twitter last night:
This is either the best or worst political ad in history.
Update II: Professor Jacobson detects "a subliminal message of defiance":
Now if he were carrying a rifle too, it might have been the best ever.
That "best ever" link goes to our own Ladd Ehlinger's Dale Peterson ad of last year!
Update III: The mighty Mark Steyn gets it:
He’s got my endorsement just for Mark Block’s cigarette exhalation. Haven’t seen anything like that since Sammy Davis Jr. took a drag in the instrumental break of “With A Song In My Heart” at the Royal Albert Hall a couple of decades back.
Update IV: Tweet of the day from @proteinwisdom:
Be honest: "Let's move!" w/ Michelle Obama? Or "Let's have a smoke, then chat up some chicks in a bar" w/ Cain's campaign guy? No brainer.
Must be one of those "dog whistles" that only members of the tribe can hear.
Update V: Huffington Post's Jason Linkins thinks it's all about tobacco:
Cain has also worked closely with cigarette manufacturers in the past. As the head of the National Restaurant Association, he lobbied against higher cigarette taxes and smoking bans in restaurants.
Crossposted at Riehl World View.
The cigarette controversy demonstrates the human desire to tell others how to live. Freedom for me but not for those who think differently. The people of the USA did pass Prohibition and many would like to prohibit smoking. Common sense would allow the restaurant owner to cater to smokers, non-smokers or both as he or she sees fit.
Posted by: goomp | October 25, 2011 at 10:34 AM