Here's an interesting little conundrum which has been under discussion for about a week: Did Team Obama secretly sponsor an anti-Palin smear video? I came to this party a tad late, so my summary of events may be imperfect.
Basically, a spot titled "Sarah Palin: A Heartbeat away" made the rounds a couple of weeks ago. The ad spread the false claim that the governor belongs to a crackpotty group called the Alaska Independence Party, which wants a vote on secession. She never joined that group, although she did once offer a videotaped "welcome" speech for one of their conventions.
This spot wasn't one of those "home made" vids you see on You Tube. The amateur stuff almost always conveys the message through captions (easily accomplished with Flash). This was a slick, well-done 30-second commercial spot using a professional voice-over. More than that, the voice-over artist was recorded to professional standards -- not an easy task.
Eventually, a fellow named Ethan Winner stepped forward to announce himself as the "father" of the video, although he has yet to apologize for the deformation of the facts. He claims that the (unnamed) voice-over artist is the only thing he paid for. (I doubt this: He also needed an engineer and a recording booth, at the very least.) He also says that he has nothing to do with the Obama campaign.
Others have said that the voice-over artist used in Winner's spot sounds an awful lot like the same lady who does the official Obama ads. This side-by-side comparison may not be probative, but it is certainly interesting.
Just to make the guessing game more intriguing, some folks have tried to identify the female narrator(s). One possibility is Kathryn Klvana. Who is Kathryn Klvana? Let's put it this way: IN A WORLD where Don LaFontaine narrated nearly every movie trailer... IN A BUSINESS where women have literally struggled to make their voices heard... ONE WOMAN has broken through as a voice artist, primarily in the field of political ads. THAT WOMAN is Kathryn Klvana -- the voice that launched a thousand campaigns.
My take? Well, first of all, I wonder if this matter will prove important in the long run. So many falsehoods have buffeted McCain and Palin, from all directions, that it seems a bit silly to focus on just one bogus accusation. Still, it would be a serious matter if the Obama campaign were to produce smear spots and then allow "independents" like Mr. Winner to take the credit/blame. I'm not saying that this is what happened. The evidence -- at least, such evidence as we have -- now lies before you. Come to your own judgment.
2 comments:
I assume you read this report. Except for the smoking gun, this report is damning. At the very least Winner's company and personnel were skirting the precipice. Nothing may ever be proved with the squirrelly Obama camp. But something smells fishy.
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/194057.php
bert in Oho
Its what happened with the original 2004 ad - that commercial was produced by a former roommate of Obama's spokesman. I don't buy that's a coincidence. it tied into the very themes that were being pushed by Obama's campaign about Clinton - that she was a corporatist that would side with big business over the rights of individuals.
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