I'm not a supporter of Hillary's because I think she's already too unpopular to win. On the other hand, I don't think this video really resonates with any major issue people have with her. Is she really more of a big brother/sister candidate than most Republican you can point to? It seems to me that conservatives supporting the Patriot Act and the Bush abuses of power would be better targets of the ad than Hillary Clinton.

I find this ad deeply suspicious.

The soundbites seem to be completely wrong for the ad. I realize there is a certain irony in the original, which juxtaposes "we shall prevail" with the throwing of the hammer. But in the original, the voice has an obviously evil quality to it. These soundbites are Hillary's explicit attempt to come across as a regular person, having a "conversation" with each of us individually, whereas the original ad speaks of "one people, one will, one resolve, one cause," and "a garden of pure ideology where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests of any contradictory thoughts." Meanwhile, the Hillary soundbite says "I don't want people who agree with me." Also, the image of big brother is dark, and blends in with the dark wall in the original commercial, while the imagine of Clinton is bright white, an aberration in the monolithic room

If I had to guess at the source of this video, I would bet it came from the Clinton campaign. Imagine seeing it without any knowledge of the original. Most people probably don't remember the original all that well. Here is an alternative interpretation of the Clinton video: Clinton is trying to awaken people who have become used to politics as a competitive sport, or partisan war, rather than a discussion, an exchange of ideas, about how to make everyone better off. Hillary says that it's "really good" that "so far, we haven't stopped talking." However, some evil forces don't want you to keep talking. Right before the hammer is thrown, the text on the screen over Hillary reads, "this is our conversation." The next time we see the screen, a smiling Hillary again says she "hopes to keep this conversation going," just before the sledge hammer smashes into the screen. In the original ad, following the initial explosion as the sledgehammer crashes into the screen, we hear a light, cool breeze, suggesting freedom. This sound appears to have been slowed down in the Clinton video, lowering the pitch and suggesting the cold wind of emptiness and despair. By this point we are really wondering who would be so evil as to want to end "our conversation." We then see a bright white screen which says, "On January 14th, the Democratic primary will begin. And you'll see why 2008 won't be like '1984.'" Note that 1984 has a significance in presidential politics quite apart from Orwell's book. 1984 was the year Walter Mondale, running as an unabashed liberal, lost every state in the nation except Minnesota. The white screen, associated with Clinton, promises a different outcome in 2008, until it is covered over by a pitch black screen bearing Barack Obama's web address. It must be he who wishes to end the conversation.

i'll have some of whatever Ben's smoking. i'll grant him some obvious differences between the original Apple ad and this piece, color being the most fundamental of them. but this was done by an (unfinanced?) amateur. the rest of the overarching analogy is incredibly obvious, plays directly upon the original, and is quite simple to identify.

the protagonist, wearing bright colors and the Obama campaign logo, runs down the aisle between hundreds of desensitized drones who stare mindlessly at rambling image of Hilary, ultimately throwing the big hammer into Hilary's gaping maw (the source of the dronage), smashing the big screen, and the text follows this up with (loosely) "no more of that brand of politics", the obvious inference that Hilary's politics lean too heavily towards the center to be of any use. the drones open their eyes and go slack-jawed in amazement, boggling at the change that is to come, which is left to our imagination (except for that Obama logo, of course).

and indeed, the allusion to the failed Democratic 1984 elections substantiates this. the Mondale campaign was just as centric as Hilary's rhetoric, and just as ideologically failed.

frightened of the potential of having a black President, Ben? he's certainly better than any other candidate we have out there right now. i don't personally think he's ready for it, but he is far and away the most promising of the crowd.

it must be disconcerting for some people, Ben. pity, that.

I love the blog that you have. I was wondering if you would link my blog to yours and in return I would do the same for your blog. If you want to, my site name is American Legends and the URL is:

www.americanlegends.info

If you want to do this just go to my blog and in one of the comments just write your blog name and the URL and I will add it to my site.

Thanks,
David

I suspect we will see a lot more of this kind of stuff. Apparently cheap and not to hard to make. Maybe like blogs, it will be ignored as just another bag of dirty tricks before the election.

I have no idea who really did this or if there is any deep significance. I guess I would support Hillary if she got the nomination, but she has a lot of baggage including her war and bankruptcy votes. I think the Democratic Party can do better.

It is all par for the course in terms of what is dominating the American intellect these days. How did this happen to us?

If you look at the words Hillary is speaking in the web video, there really isn't much to critize.

"One month Ago I began a conversation with all of you and so far we haven’t stop talking and that’s really good. I intend to keep telling you exactly where I stand on all of the issues. I’m looking at how we can help you and the other people who are hard working like you. And I’ve really been impressed by how serious people are because we all need to be part of the discussion if we’re all going to be part of the solution. I don’t want people who already agree with me. I want honest, experienced, hard-working, patriotic people who want to be part of a team, the American team. I hope you’ve learned a little bit more about what I believe in and what I’m trying to do and really helped this conversation about our country get started. I hope to keep this conversation all the way until November 2008.
On January 14th, the Democratic primary will begin, and you’ll see why 2008 won’t be like “1984.” BarackObama.com"

I think her words are all extremely positive and conversational. But the fact that the author portrays her as a dictator is interesting because if you think about it...the Clinton's and Bush's will have controlled the last 20 years if Hillary gets elected. Sounds like a modern dictatorship to me.