Shameless…

We’ve all seen a ton of political ads in our time. I want to share with you now the worst television ad for a candidate I have ever seen.
The advertisement features actor Michael J. Fox of the “Back to the Future” movie series and of the television comedies “Family Ties” and “Spin City.” Mr. Fox left the latter television series after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease–an affliction which attacks the body’s central nervous system and affects muscle control.
Fox appears in a television spot promoting Democrat Claire McCaskill for the U.S. Senate seat in Missouri…the one that’s currently occupied by Republican Jim Talent. The central issue of the advertisement? Stem cell research.
Why is this the worst ad I’ve ever seen? Well…take a look below and I’ll continue on after you’ve had a chance to watch it.

(If you cannot see the video above, please click here to view it on the YouTube website.)
My first reaction to this advertisement is that…well, it makes me sad. I mean, this is Michael J. Fox. When have you ever heard anyone say a bad thing about this guy? He is universally liked and I don’t think that’s any kind of exaggeration.
So, the first reaction the person producing this advertisement wants people to have is this:
“Those Republican bastards! Look what they’ve done to Michael J. Fox by not supporting stem cell research.”
Instead, here’s the reaction that viewers are going to have:
“Awwww…it’s Michael J. Fox. I loved him in Back to the Future. That movie with the car and the 1.21 jigawatts. that makes me really sad.”
This advertisement has the same effect that evoking the memory of Christopher Reeve had during the 2004 Presidential campaign: it falls flat on its face.
Now, aside from all that, this advertisement really pisses me off. Allow me to clarify: it doesn’t make me angry with Michael J. Fox. He’s speaking out on an issue that matters to him and one that, as he says, provides hope. I’m furious with Claire McCaskill, truth be told. Her and her campaign staff. How dare they trot out poor Michael J. Fox to appear center stage in their ad just to court the sympathy vote. Fox knew what he was doing, sure. However the McCaskill campaign is the one who made the decision to use Fox and put the ad. (After all, Candidate McCaskill “approves this message,” right?)
I have no issues with Fox, but the fact is that there is no evidence that embryonic stem cell research would lead to any kind of cure or advancement in treatment for Parkinson’s or any other disease. In fact, there’s recent evidence that using embryonic stem cells to treat Parkinsons might help reduce symptoms, but there’s one hell of a side effect:
Brain tumors.
That’s “hope?”
The other fact in this discussion is that the Government is not restricting the use of embryonic stem cells. They are merely not allowing federal funding for this line of research.
This Missouri Senate seat is one of the hotly contested ones and, judging from the polling data, there is no clear cut leader in this race. It could go either way on any given day. Personally, I think that Talent is going to win by 4, but that’s just me. I think this advertisement is going to have more of a negative reaction with some people…and not in the way that the McCaskill campaign wants.
Bottom line, though: the McCaskill folks are just shameless. They will do or say anything to win this campaign, including tearing at people’s emotion and promoting an unproven science.
Shameless, I say.
William Smith
ConservativeBlogger.com