When looking at recent presidential elections, the 2008 election stands out to me. Obama and McCain were both considered outsiders in their own ways. Obama was young and generally new to politics and McCain was considered a maverick, not always following party lines when voting. I appreciate this ad, “Broken” in support of McCain because it calls out this outsider position of McCain, which I believe was one of his stronger personal attributes.

Additionally, the ad functions as a form of attack ad. Rather than attacking Obama, it is attacking corruption with government. Which, in turn, is attacking the current political system and politicians in general. I like this twist on a typical attack ad because it is finding a common enemy and using it as a way to promote characteristics about yourself while not attacking your opponent who shares many of those same characteristics.

Further, a lot the aspects that McCain points out as having corruption (the prior administration (Bush), big oil, Wall Street) tend to have direct or indirect ties to the Republican party. In pointing out the corruption in them, the American people can see how McCain would work on both sides of the aisle. He is not bound to the ideologies or interests of the Republican party despite being their nominee. I believe that emphasizing this works well in relating to the electorate because many Americans do not fit neatly into one political party over the other. As the political system gets more polarized in the United States, those individuals have less politicians that they can identify with. McCain gave them a politician to put their trust into. In doing so, the ad successfully playing into American ideals of freedom through putting America first before any political party.