Video ad above called "Passed Over" and can be found at YouTube here.
Reports came out before Barack Obama announced Joe Biden as his running mate, showing Hillary Clinton had not been vetted for the position at all and was not considered. Today John McCain takes aim at Clinton supporters in a new ad called "Passed Over."
The vetting process usually requires for certain paperwork, such as taxes, medical records, donors and so forth, to be provided so that a presidential candidate can vet the prospect to assure themselves that there will be no surprises about the candidate they choose.
Many have said because of the long drawn out primary and the public history of Hillary Clinton, she was already thoroughly vetted but in the the primary campaign she had not provided the names of the Clinton Library donors, to which it was said that should she win the presumptive nominee status, she would then make that list available. Once she suspended her campaign the list of donors became irrelevant, but had she been considered for the vice presidential that list would have been one of the crucial pieces of information any candidate considering her would have required access to.
When The Politico published the report called "Hillary Gets Stiffed", many Clinton supporters were angry because even the gesture or symbolic pretense of considering her was reported not to have been made.
And the official said she was never asked for medical records or for any financial 2008 information about her or former President Bill Clinton. The last information the couple has disclosed about taxes and financial holdings was for 2007.
The Clintons also were not asked about donors to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.
“This would be the biggest leap of faith ever,” the official said. “She’s waiting for the text message like everyone else.”
According to Real Clear Politics 2008 Democratic Popular vote, when all the votes of each state were included, Hilary Clinton received 18,046,007 votes cast in her name and 17,822,145 votes were cast in Barack Obama's name.
Those 18 million plus voters are the people the new John McCain ad, shown in the video above, are aimed at.
The Text of the ad:
"She won millions of votes.
"But isn't on his ticket.
"Why?
"For speaking the truth.
"On his plans:
HILLARY CLINTON: "You never hear the specifics."
ANNCR: "On the Rezko scandal:
HILLARY CLINTON: "We still don't have a lot of answers about Senator Obama."
ANNCR: "On his attacks:
HILLARY CLINTON: "Senator Obama's campaign has become increasingly negative."
ANNCR: "The truth hurt.
"And Obama didn't like it.
JOHN MCCAIN: "I'm John McCain and I approved this message."
This is not the first time, nor will it be the last that Hillary Clinton's words during the primary are used against Barack Obama in the general election campaign, but this ad is clearly geared toward the 18 million plus voters, specifically the ones that have declared they will not support Obama come November.
As LA Times' Top of the Ticket notes, McCain was one of the first to warmly welcome Hillary Clinton into the Senate and befriend her in 2001 and during the primary season, McCain and Clinton did not "go after" each, did not level attacks against each other, and when Clinton suspended her campaign, it was the McCain website which instantly paid tribute to her hard fought battle during the primaries, two days before Barack Obama did the same.
Television pundits from multiple channels, yesterday and again today, have been discussing not only Obama's choice of Biden as his running mate, but also discussing the potential ramifications of not even making it appear as if Hillary Clinton was in consideration.
With interviews and chatter on a variety of Clinton supporter sites calling it some type of disrespect it was only a matter of time before the John McCain campaign starting using that theme to reach those voters, supporters that both campaigns have actively tried to reach since Clinton suspended her campaign.
One Clinton supporter website agrees with the questions in the new "Passed Over" ad, acknowledges they understand exactly what John McCain is doing and states, "At least John McCain is showing up and saying 'I want your votes', unlike Gumby who has done nothing but insult Senator Clinton, President Clinton and the 18 million voters who supported Hillary, over and over again; including the latest stunt of not even giving Senator Clinton the courtesy of being “vetted” as a show of unity."
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