Meet Julia

[Alan]

http://www.barackobama.com/life-of-julia

Leave it to Barack Obama to unintentionally explain to America what life is like when you’re entirely dependent on government welfare with a cartoon that is designed to simultaneously terrify women, young people and the elderly into believing Mitt Romney’s plan for America involves dropping them off at the edge of the Grand Canyon and explaining that everyone with a problem is required to jump.

Voters can ‘Take a look at how President Obama’s policies help one woman over her lifetime — and how Mitt Romney would change her story.’ It is one of the most brazenly statist pieces of campaign literature I can ever remember seeing, not to mention the implication that women are incapable of success, comfort, security and happiness without government.


Does this sort of campaigning really work?

[catherine]

I have to admit, I'm for Obama, but I do not like that slideshow at all. It panders to the "gimmes" in my opinion, and the points are pretty arguable:

For instance, I have never been to Headstart, my schools never participated in a Federal program like RaceToTheTop, I worked hard, started my own consultancy and wound up making more money than I ever thought I would--without Small Business Administration loans or Lilly Ledbetter laws. I'm female, and I'm fine, thank you. I realize that some of these programs do really help some people, but I agree that the message here is, we're doomed without all of these programs, and Obama is the only person to thank.

So, I agree, Alan, not great campaigning. Do a do-over, Obama!

[LDAHL]

I agree with catherine. This whole "Obama is life" message strikes me as a particularly creepy brand of pandering.

I've seen the term "bureaugamy" used to describe this sort of lifetime relationship with government.

[iris lily]

This blatent Nanny State ad is not only annoying, it's factually inaccurate.

This Julia contributed to FICA for 23 years at my current employer yet Obama's man at Society Security Administration, after admitting that SS has received and filed the money for 23 years, will deny benefits to me. Earlier in the week our employer's latest appeal was turned down. Thanks Prez, I can't think of a stronger reason to prove to me that Nanny G does not and never will have my best interests at heart. It's a clown show in D.C.

The first frame of this ad reminded me of a universal truth: keep you children out of the circumstances that qualify them for Headstart and it's unlikely they'll need the rest of the President's handouts.

[JaneV2.0]

That's pretty ham-handed. Maybe it works for some voters, and I understand the focus on women considering the opposition's "back to the dark ages" momentum, but it doesn't resonate much with me. I benefited from laws that made it illegal to shut women out of lucrative jobs traditionally held by men and I have a good deal of respect for President Obama, but I think they could have done a better job outlining the stark differences between his policies and the GOP's.

I don't think it's in any way shameful for citizens to expect affordable education, health care, or old age pensions--the perks of living in a civilized society--however they are realized. Although I've stood on my own two feet all my adult life, I have no desire to live in DogEatDogistan where the elites alternately throw a few crumbs to their serfs and then crush them underfoot when their needs become inconvenient.

And--like it or not--when you live in an actual country with the laws and infrastructure that implies, you're going to have a lifetime relationship with government.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Yea I haven't participated in any of these things either. However if there is any social security left by that time I will qualify. My entire work history being in the private sector (with no pensions of course) I don't think there is any ambiguity on whether I get Social Security (the ambiguity comes in in things like working at a school - where teachers have their own teachers pensions etc.).

I also don't think Julia needs that much help (say affording birth control) as a web designer (with a college degree to boot), that's just not plausible. I mean make up a story where Julia spends her life working tiny non-profits trying to save the world, then maybe the struggle becomes plausible. But a web designer, um, people go into those fields because there actually is some decent pay there.

Anyway Julia is annoying. Everything runs right on time (years of practice and design, spit and polish ...) in Julia's life doesn't it? Kids at 31 (because hey not too early or too late and of course she has them). Graduates from college right when she should, never finds herself an adult reconsidering her career path ...

[flowerseverywhere]

I don't like it. it demeans women implying they aren't smart enough to take care of themselves. What if it were Joe instead of Julia?

The health care issue is a big one, as well as social security, for people like iris Lilly, it really stinks that a situation like that could happen. But we all better brace for big cuts in SS and Medicare no matter who we worked for. All parties have not been good stewards of our money.

[creaker]

Unfortunately, we're the "pasta" phase of the election - we're going to see endless stuff thrown by both sides just to see what sticks. Whatever sticks will be expanded upon, whatever doesn't will be dropped.

I expect this one will get dropped pretty quickly.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Unfortunately, we're the "pasta" phase of the election - we're going to see endless stuff thrown by both sides just to see what sticks. Whatever sticks will be expanded upon, whatever doesn't will be dropped.

+1 long dumb down from now through November .... perhaps getting progressively dumber up to that point ...

[catherine]

Yeah, I love what Tim Ferriss has to say about all the stuff out there at election time: he advocates a low-information diet and when people ask him, how do you learn about political candidates, he says he goes to a few of the people he respects the most and asks them why they are voting for who they're voting for, and that's how he decides.

Other than that, he lets all that cr*p in the media just keep rollin' along.