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The general election has begun! And so has the onslaught of campaign ads. Which ones succeed? Which fail? In Ad Watch, we review them as they come out. Today: President Obama makes his case that we've come a long way since 2008, and a conservative group goes on the attack against teachers.
The Ad: Barack Obama, "Go"
The Issues: All the stuff that's happened since the financial crisis.
The Message: There are three interesting messages in the ad. First, it spends quite a bit of time on reminding viewers how deep the financial crisis was "before he took office." Second, the add takes a shot at the Tea Party, with the narrator saying over clips of people dressed in tricorner hats, "Some said our best days were behind us." Third, it's a more subtle use of Joe Biden's line, that Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive. The ad shows busy factory workers and boasts, "Our greatest enemy brought to justice by our greatest heroes." Okay, so the economy isn't great -- but it could be worse! "We're not there yet. It's still too hard for too many, but we're coming back because America's greatness comes from a middle class," the narrator says.