Sen. Joe Manchin said his infamous “Dead Aim” political ad should not be connected to the tragedy that occurred over the weekend in Tucson, Ariz., but he doubts he would use it again now that the horrific event has occurred . . .
During a Monday afternoon conference call with reporters, he pointed to the fact that he wasn’t targeting a person, but rather a piece of paper in an ad that should be taken symbolically, not literally.
Here’s a web ad run by his campaign in which Manchin literally “shoots” his opponent, depicted as Darth Vader. I like Star Wars, and I like out-of-the-box campaign ads, but if we’re going to make an old map with bull’s-eyes or crosshairs into a national controversy, I don’t see why a web ad depicting a candidate shooting his opponent out of midair is considered completely okay.
If you think it’s silly to give Manchin grief over these old campaign ads, I concur. But it’s also silly to unleash the Metaphor Police on Sarah Palin.
