That's my ten dollars at work! Heh.

but I am not sure that appealing to unity and post-partisanship is a path to victory in Iowa. It will appeal to a certain constituency within the Democratic Party, and to independents, but is that enough for Obama to win or place close second in Iowa? I'm not sure.

But that's the niche Obama has carved out for himself. I don't think any of the other candidates can really challenge him for that "let's all work together across partisan lines" niche.

I think the "dig" at Edwards is so subtle that most people watching the ad will not see or hear it.

I'm an Edwards guy and I don't think the "dig" is anything new, Obama has been beating the unity drum for a while.

I think it's a great ad and it gives me hope that whomever the nominee is, we'll have a great ad campaign (and plenty of cash to keep it on the air.)

I really like these spots - I'm not a big fan of gimick ads like Rishardson.  I don't really see the Edwards dig, just a different vision... the ad is movement based, and that is cool and what people are looking for.  It is clean and professional (that is what 50 mil get you).  Over all they did a great job!

Whay does "unity" mean, anyway?

Specifics?

Obama is a "Uniter Not a Divider". Oh wait no, nooooooooooooooooo

Holding hands and bipartisanship never wins elections or primaries for that matter. The problem right now isn't partisanship or unity, it's actually focusing on the WRONG issues and getting nothing accomplished.

It won an election in 2000.

He doesn't say anywhere that he's a Democrat. Didn't we agree here for 06 that we want our team to promote the Democratic party brand? He's not just neglecting our team name - he's squishing it.

My view is that the most memorable lines come from stuff he did years ago (oppose Iraq and 2004 DNC speech). Great and all, but....

It is an excellent ad and it still leaves me with the question of how can we do this with such rabid Republicans in congress.  The Dems just rolled over for the WH.  The What If stirs up the possibility of  Maybe Not Possible.  

I still prefer Edwards fighting stance of what "my party, the Democratic party" is all about - doing what is right for working men and women.  I like the concrete vision.

Having said that, this ad still is very good and professional.  It shows Obama very well.

Winning, fighting....  Where are the specifics?  All platitudes no substance.  When will we give up the feel goods and get to the point.

The little detour into smear didn't work out so well.

The ad is well put together and has good bio highlights.  The 2004 convention pieces will resonate with voters who see the current two party competition as a lot of polarized ideological posturing.  There are a lot of disaffected voters who feel there are more nuances and options in issues than the national political discourse allows.  

But unless a voter saw the remarkable 2004 speech, these snippets may not convey enough about Obama's call to unity to fill in the voter's questions about how this call to unity is different than previous promises of "bipartisan" efforts.

And then there are folks in the pundit infotainment industry and people deeply immersed in hard core partisan politics that won't get this because they don't want to get it or their self interest is tied to politics of division.  Until Obama's philosophy is handed to us in a 30 minute commercial we have to go to other sources and dig it up:

[Obama] alone seems to have a theory about the next era of politics, not the last. His appeal to unity is not as soft or aloof as it may seem. What's most interesting about it is that he's calling for an engagement with ideological conservatism itself, rather than with powerful interests. There's a real difference between calling for bipartisanship, as Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain do, and calling for a mutual attempt to understand and respect the conservative worldview, as Obama does in The Audacity of Hope. At a time when conservatism is discredited, as a result of its alliance with the least-principled gang ever, Obama is calling it out and attempting to separate it from the narrow economic interests it has served. This is not just a standard accommodation to power and interest; it's an attempt to reground politics on questions of first principle -- in a way that will end to liberalism's advantage.

Mark Schmitt, "Obama and the Rules", The American Prospect

Anyone who wants to understand what Obama's concept of unity is about may be advised to read the first chapter of Audacity of Hope.  

How come the the threads about a particular candidate get so many more comments than the threads about general Democratic issues (like the one above this one).

It seems to me a lot of people who are on this site are more interested in bickering about Clinton, Obama, or Edwards than they are about support the progressive movement in general.

"Opposes warrantless wiretapping."

That's the only thing missing.