Wow, Eli, thanks for pointing out those subtle messages. I'd have never noticed them, what with them not being there and all.

If anything, I would say it was more of a subtle anti-urban-elite thing ("Screw the city, we're puttin' country first! Yee-ha!"). The slogan, that is; not the ad.

@1 -- Unnecessary snark.

My favorite thing about this is the big-balls-a-swingin' narrator's voice is followed by Lil' Shrimpy's quivering simper. Undercuts the whole fucking tone of the ad in eight words. Hahahahaha. Eat it, McCain!

Necessary snark, Jbltn. T.

"America first!" is a jingoist slogan. "Serve your country" is plain-vanilla patriotism. JFK thought it was a fine idea to put your country's needs ahead of your own needs. So putting your country first is not remarkable. "Putting America first" would be somewhat different; the subtle change involves the implication that citizens of other countries aren't allowed to be patriotic. It matters how you say it.

It's deeply paranoid to interpret McCain's statement "I'm patriotic" to be a dig at Obama's patriotism. Almost all candidates claim to be patriots and it's silly to think McCain can't say it just because Obama has a perceived patriotism problem.

Reacting this way makes Eli seem shrill and defensive.

@4 -- And seeing it this way makes me feel you are naive and unaware of what political campaign ads are supposed to do.

We disagree.

The more you listen to Bush and McCain and the conservative commentariat fixate on the progress in Iraq and the importance of "winning" in Iraq, the more you sense they're living in some alternate reality. Like some weird guy who's become fixated on a celebrity and has lost all interest in his real life.

So yeah, I think "putting country first" is a great slogan for them to lay claim to. Just, that country is not the United States of America.

Petroleum Use is Patriotic. Buy a Cadillac Escalade today!!!