"Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years," Obama says in the ad, which includes footage of ICE raids. "With Prop. 50, you can stop Republicans in their tracks. Prop. 50 puts our elections back on a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting over the long term, and lets the people decide. Return your ballot today."
The ad, titled Things Can Change, opens with a woman speaking directly to the camera on a city street, saying: I used to love New York, but now it's just where I live. It then turns to footage of other New Yorkers watching Mamdani's primary win on their TVs and phones. New Yorkers have stood up for a city they can afford, Mamdani says in voiceover. We'll freeze the rent, make buses fast and free, and deliver universal child care,
A television commercial is a way of selling a product. A candidate's bid for votes should be a higher order of expression...with moral implications for the kind of people we are...and the kind we want to become. But, increasingly, candidates are merging the two...selling themselves like an underarm deodorant... in commercials just long enough to pound in some mindless slogan...that cheapens candidate... and voter alike,