NYT: Fuzzy and Out of Focus? This Time, It's Intentional

[kskiska]

By ELISABETH BUMILLER

President Bush has been called many things during his three and a half years in office, but hip has not often been one of them.

Which helps explain why Mr. Bush is now introduced at rallies across the country with a new video so full of MTV-inspired jump cuts, freeze frames and herky-jerky camera work that it makes it clear again - this is not his father's campaign.

Set to the tune of "Taking Care of Business," a 70's rock song used in the 2000 presidential race, the video shows Mr. Bush grabbing voters' hands, jumping on and off a campaign bus in Ohio and stopping at a candy shop in Wisconsin. But the video stands out not for its content but for its edgy, unpresidential style, with grainy pictures, speeded-up action and off-kilter camera angles shouting "you got a problem with this?" to anyone under 25.

"Anybody our age would say, 'Oh, that's a little fuzzy and out of focus,' but that's exactly what 20-somethings are used to seeing," said Mark McKinnon, the Bush campaign's 40-something media strategist. "It's got a little bit of reality TV to it."

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/06/politics/campaign/06letter.html

[truthbetold]

1. Wow.

I actually want to see that commercial. Just to laugh at its lameness, of course.

[redstateblues]

3. Bush=Hip- Pretty funny

[drscm]

4. I don't think seeing it is worth signing the loyalty oath, which

is a statement that you are willing to sell the country to the biggest bidders.

[jfalchion]

9. "Just to laugh at its lameness"

Be careful.

*'s handlers are not fools. They know their target audience and produce accordingly.

:kick:

[goclark]

20. Did you see the horrible Barney

video that they showed at the convention?

It looked like a Home Video from the 70's.

These people hate Hollywood but they really need to take a few lessons.

[jfalchion]

2. reply

I doubt very much if I will ever to see it.

[oldhat]

5. Hipublicans

I love it when the GOP youth get crunk and all up in my grill by kicking mad facts about tax cuts for the rich and blowing the limbs of Iraqi children off with multimillion dollar smart bombs.


It's totally awesome, d00d!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

[kysrsoze]

29. Where is EBN when we REALLY need them. Now they could do a video

http://www.guerrillanews.com/ebn/

Watch the videos! The past is here now.

[madrchsod]

6. please someone give me a gun

i want to blow what little brain matter i have away.i just can`t take the stupidity of people anymore..

[fairfaxvadem]

7. Appealing to the under 25 crowd w/BTO??

These guys are seriously tone deaf. Sounds like something any reasonable 25 and under would like to watch really stoned and then laugh for the next hour.

But hey, it's fine by me if they want to be this stupid.

George Bush is as unHIP as they come. A true goof ball.

[hatrack]

12. Kind of like Dodge attracting younger buyers w. Aerosmith (?!?!)

Brought to you by "Weird Misadventures in Marketing".

[fairfaxvadem]

15. hahaha! Precisely.

This sort of stuff does make me cringe though.

It's a blasphemy against my childhood summers, hearing all those tunes played all day long at the community pool. Not to mention the roller skating rink where Taking Care of Business was THE song to get out there on and look for boys.

Disgraceful.

[susanna]

19. I'm with you.

If the folks who wrote Barbara/Jenna's routine were part of the GOP "hip" squad who created this intro, well, they're seriously screwed as far as its lameness quotient. The best part is that they don't realize it yet. Let them do it!

As you mentioned, BTO would not be my choice for edgy and hip, sorry to say. I'm a 30-something (how I hate that term), and even I'd be listening to BTO saying, "whatever."

I wouldn't help the opposition by mentioning which bands or artists would actually work. ;-)

[kskiska]

27. Karen Hughes wrote Barbara/Jenna routine

I hear she was hopping mad at the media's trashing of the twins.

[kysrsoze]

28. Speaking of, where can I get hold of these videos?

He he.

[amandabeech]

38. Yeah, and BTO was CANADIAN!

And you know that Canadian opinion has not been portrayed as being favorable toward the Iraq war and Bush in general.

Wasn't Randy Bachman a part of the Guess Who and "American Woman" from the '60s?

They should've gone with a solo cut from Johnny Ramone, who apparently is a rock-ribbed Republican. At least that'd get them into the later '70s and early 80's. RIP Joey Ramone.

[seventhson]

8. F*cking Mark McKinnon was Paul Begala's partner at PSInc (PSI)

which reps Karl Rove.

That is why Begala dumpeed on McKinney and his sister F'ed up Gore's campaign as his press secretary in 2000 (IMHO).

There will be a special hell reserved for these people.

[MikeG]

10. A man who puts down 60's hippies at every turn is now hip? Nope.

[bain_sidhe]

11. "taking care of business" is the theme song?

Well, duh. I just didn't think they'd be honest about it.

[hatrack]

13. Mission Unaccomplished - Every Day!

Mission Unaccomplished - we hate gays!
Mission Unaccomplished - Osama who?
Mission Unaccomplished - We'll drop some bombs on you!!

[amandabeech]

40. Excellent alternative lyrics, Hatrack. n/t

[Ohio rules]

14. Does Alice Cooper know

his song wasn't "elected" for such a lead role?

[hatrack]

16. Alice Cooper?

Bachman-Turner Overdrive, dude!!

Of course, Alice Cooper would be an appropriate choice for theme music, since he's a total Republican fuckstick.

[SidDithers]

23. BTO, fine CANADIAN band...

Whatsamatta, Boosh, couldn't find any decent American bands for your campaign? All the good songs owned by Dems?

Idjit.

Sid

[Elginoid]

25. "Stormtroopin'" by Ted Nugent would have been a more appropriate choice-

...speaking of total repukelican fucksticks.

[skrunch]

43. Or "Stranglehold"

The Halliburton Anthem

[Morning Dew]

17. What a putz - I love to work at nothin' all day

You get up every morning
From your alarm clock´s warning
Take the 8:15 into the city
There´s a whistle up above
And people pushin´, people shovin´
And the girls who try to look pretty
And if your train´s on time
You can get to work by nine
And start your slaving job to get your pay
If you ever get annoyed
Look at me I´m self-employed
I love to work at nothing all day
And I´ll be...
Taking care of business every day
Taking care of business every way
I´ve been taking care of business, it´s all mine
Taking care of business and working overtime
Work out
If it were easy as fishin´
You could be a musician
If you could make sounds loud or mellow
Get a second-hand guitar
Chances are you´ll go far
If you get in with the right bunch of fellows
People see you having fun
Just a-lying in the sun
Tell them that you like it this way
It´s the work that we avoid
And we´re all self-employed
We love to work at nothing all day
And we be...
Taking care of business every day
Taking care of business every way
I´ve been taking care of business, it´s all mine
Taking care of business and working overtime
Take good care of my business
When I´m away, every day whoo!
You get up every morning
From your alarm clock´s warning
Take the 8:15 into the city
There´s a whistle up above
And people pushin´, people shovin´
And the girls who try to look pretty
And if your train´s on time
You can get to work by nine
And start your slaving job to get your pay
If you ever get annoyed
Look at me I´m self-employed
I love to work at nothing all day
And I´ll be...
Taking care of business every day
Taking care of business every way
I´ve been taking care of business, it´s all mine
Taking care of business and working overtime
Takin´ care of business
Takin´ care of business
Takin´ care of business
Takin´ care of business
Takin´ care of business.....

[w4rma]

31. Oh my goodness. That song they are using is perfect for the Shub. (nt)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. Time for hip-replacement surgery

I recommend the John Kerry model.

[calimary]

21. That's not his on-camera shtick. "Fuzzy and Out of Focus" describes

his entire world view.

[allalone]

22. groovy

hey he's gonna prove he's hip using a 30 year old song that has been done to death in commercials? far out!

[yardwork]

24. As a mother of teenage sons

I can tell that this ad is hopelessly lame.

It might win over some moranic 40-somethings, but it will go nowhere with the intended demographic.

[Jim Sagle]

26. That cat is really hep to the jive!

;)

[loudsue]

33. LOL!! Too funny Sagle!!

;)

:kick:

[Jim Sagle]

37. 23 skidoo! He's the cat's meow!

[VolcanoJen]

30. God, they are funny, funny people.

First, they have the Bush Twins supa-illspeech written by Karen Hughes, a 47-year-old hausfrau with the fashion sense of an NCAA womens basketball coach, and now, this.

[Chovexani]

42. LOL!

That is quite possibly the most apt description of Karen Hughes I've ever heard. All she needs is the clipboard in her hand and the furrowed brow.

Nothing funnier than a bunch of old, out of touch stiffs trying to be cool...:P

[dbt]

32. Oh, the irony!

Taking care of BUSINESS? Damn right! Let's see:

The oil business
The banking business
The pharmaceutical business
The media business
The DEfense business
The Wal-Mart business
The outsourcing business
The bankruptcy business
The funeral business

How many MORE businesses is the Worthless Little Fuck taking care of while the HUMAN business goes begging?

:freak:
dbt

[Snellius]

34. I loved "Put a Little in Your Heart" at the finale of Bu**sh**'s sermon

The Christian Soldiers get down. Give it up for Mr. Shock and Awe.
It's "Springtime for Hitler" with a straight face.

[Citizen Daryl]

35. *** The PERFECT Response To This Video ***

A 30 second (or better, 60) second commercial of uncut footage of Bush sitting in the classroom after he's been told that America is under attack. No dialogue, nothing but natural audio from the clip.

Title at the end of the video: "TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS?"

[Catfight]

41. SUPERB! Please submit that idea to Kerry and get the ball rolling!

Also, John Stewart should have a few comic replies to such a ridiculous marketing of the man. You know, the more desperate they get the more I'm POSITIVE the polls are WAY OFF BASE! Bush knows something we all don't know (besides that Al Queda was determined to attack us with domestic airplanes) he knows he's losing! Losers lose, winners like Kerry/Edwards are raising the bar for America!

[Toucano]

36. There's no "reality" to Bush at all.

TV or otherwise.

[The_Casual_Observer]

39. Cheap gimmick effects for a cheap gimmick resident

[Kinkistyle]

44. Whoa! Like Radical to the Extreme Dude!

Republicans hip and cool? LOL! :D Thats one for the ages. Reminds me of the episode of Simpsons where Homer provides the voice for a cartoon character named "Poochie" who is supposed to be cool and hip but in fact is quite lame and outdated.

[Drifter]

45. Sounds like a Pat Boone rock concert ...

chuckle

Cheers
Drifter

[JerseygirlCT]

46. Well, at least this time it's true: his purpose in life IS "Taking Care

of Business".

The rest of us can go suck eggs, apparently.