LAT: Capitol Hill Blacks Pan Kerry (Afr.-Am.) Ads (no "oomph")

[DeepModem Mom]

THE RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Capitol Hill Blacks Pan Kerry's Ads
The $2-million drive is lackluster and won't grip African American voters, leaders say.

By Nick Anderson and Jia Lynn Yang, Times Staff Writers


WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry unveiled a $2-million advertising drive Wednesday targeted at African American voters, but several black lawmakers who reviewed the radio and television commercials panned them as uninspired and disappointing.

The criticism from Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and other African Americans on Capitol Hill was striking because it revived questions about whether the Massachusetts senator has done enough to reach out to black community leaders — and by extension, spark enthusiasm for his candidacy among black voters.

"The ads … were lackluster to say the least," Cummings said after the black caucus reviewed them in a meeting at the Capitol.

Saying his opinion represented the consensus among the 25 or so caucus members who saw and heard the commercials, he added: "We felt the ads just did not, would not grip African American people in a way that would cause them to be very excited about going to the polls for John Kerry."...

***

(Rep. Gregory)Meeks (Dem., NY) praised the campaign for responding swiftly to the harsh criticism. "We had some strong opinions, and they listened to us," he said....


http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-dems15jul15,1,7504514.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Hekate]

1. Send John Edwards -- he's much more passionate! n/t

[rpannier]

2. Before he remakes his commercials to appease them...

maybe he ought to go out to the people in NYC, Detroit, Los Angeles, Atlanta, rural Mississippi, etc and show them there and ask the PEOPLE what they think of them and how they could be better.
MY problem with any organization that begins with Congressional is that it is often out of touch with the PEOPLE.

[BayCityProgressive]

3. this isnt meant as a bash...

but the Black caucus is a hell of a lot more connected to the needs of "the people" than John kerry has ever been. He should have taken ideas from black leaders BEFORE making the commercials and just guesing what black people want to hear...

[joeybee12]

4. Yeah, not only blacks, but lots of Dems feel the Dem leadership

is out of touch and takes them for granted. We're seeing it here in Colorado. Wayne Allard wouldn not have been re-elected if the Dem leadership hadn't annointed What's-His-Name as the candidate, and got a candidate with some fire. Now, Salazar will face a tough fight from Miles largely because people here feel the dem leadership has decided to annoint Salazar, without taking into account what people really want. They truly are in their own little world.

[Cocoa]

5. not always

like when they put a crown on Rev. Moon's head, I don't think that really represented their constituency very much.

[qwlauren35]

6. Wow, this is depressing.....

Haven't decided what to do about it, except perhaps find out what a cross-section of black voters actually care about...

[CBHagman]

7. I don't view this as such a negative story.

It is a strength to take feedback and constructive criticism.

But the suggestion about getting right out there in the communities is the best of all. I hope Kerry's on that one, too.