Titled ''Chicago Machine,'' this 30-second advertisement for Senator John McCain is currently running online. The McCain campaign said it would run on television nationally.
PRODUCER McCain media team.
THE SCRIPT A narrator says: ''Barack Obama. Born of the corrupt Chicago political machine.'' A video clip then shows Mr. Obama saying, ''In terms of my toughness, look, first of all, I come from Chicago.'' The narrator continues: ''His economic adviser, William Daley -- lobbyist. Mayor's brother. His money man, Tony Rezko -- client, patron, convicted felon. His 'political godfather,' Emil Jones -- under ethical cloud. His governor, Rod Blagojevich. A legacy of federal and state investigations. With friends like that, Obama is not ready to lead.''
ON THE SCREEN The spot opens with an image of a dark television screen, which then begins playing a clip of Mr. Obama on MSNBC, his face shrouded in shadows. Then it shows silhouettes of four men, who are revealed one by one to be William M. Daley, the brother of Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago; Antoin Rezko, an Obama fund-raiser who was convicted of fraud; Emil Jones Jr., the president of the Illinois Senate; and Rod R. Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois. The advertisement concludes with a shot of Mr. Obama next to a television screen reading, ''Not Ready to Lead.''
ACCURACY Mr. Obama has ties to all of the men named. And, yes, Mr. Rezko and Mr. Jones, both longtime fixtures in Chicago politics, indeed helped propel his career when he was a state senator. Mr. Jones has been under fire recently for holding up a high-profile ethics reform bill in the Illinois Senate, though it is unclear if that is the ''ethical cloud'' referred to (last week, Mr. Obama called to press him to allow the bill to pass). And yes, Mr. Obama knows Mr. Daley, a lobbyist and brother of the Chicago mayor, and Mr. Blagojevich, who has been investigated by state and federal authorities. The question is how strong and significant those ties are. The advertisement does not address that, using innuendo to imply the ties are deep and sinister. But while the Obama campaign has called it a ''false, gratuitous attack,'' there is nothing that is outright wrong.
SCORECARD How well this advertisement succeeds in frightening voters about Mr. Obama depends upon how much dark shadows, black silhouettes or his mere knowledge of these men make them quake. It also depends upon if they are satisfied by Mr. Obama's explanations of his relationship with Mr. Rezko, his most dubious tie, after numerous newspaper articles and Republican campaign memorandums have addressed their entwined pasts. Most of all, it depends on whether voters consider ''Chicago-style politics'' something of myth and exaggeration, or something to be feared. JULIE BOSMAN