Gut Check

The holes?  They represents the gut of an American soldier killed in Iraq through the negligence of Senator George Allen.

With the mid-term free-for-all in full swing, this is one of the better attack ads so far.  Forget the fact Jim Webb still has an uphill battle, that the Virginia Senate race is turning into a visual fire fight, or that — according to right wing bloggers — the flak jackets in this ad are not Vietnam era issue, as the ad states, but “80s era kevlar.”  (Via Blogometer.)

…But even if they are 20ish years old, instead of 40ish, isn’t the point that Allen voted against the bill that would have provided the National Guard and Reserves more up-to-date protection?

The larger illustration here, however, is how vividly the Dems are using the war to fire back across the aisle.  Besides the punctures themselves, this spot is noteworthy for the violence, the visceral power of the shots, the resultant vaporous puffs.  If the Administration has been successful, so far, in abstracting the war, it makes the aggression here that much more felt.

(As a side note, I’m a little bit sorry to see most blogs now posting full commercials rather than highlighting frames.  That image can be a composite, but the most effective spot should leave one picture in your mind.)

View ad here.

(hat tip: VR)

(image: votevets.org)