Fear China, Screams Memorable Attack Ad

James Fallows of the Atlantic and Ben Smith of Politico are both covering the “Chinese Professor” attack ad from Citizens Against Government Waste (video below).

The clip takes place in “Beijing 2030” as a Chinese professor lectures on why America collapsed. His reasons are, completely coincidentally, the same as the organization’s talking points: government stimulus spending during the Recession, major changes in health care policy, and public intervention in private industries. The Professor concludes “now they work for us,” as his students laugh maniacally.

Smith calls the ad “slickly-produced” and sure to get some attention. Fallows goes further, comparing it to attack ad greats like “Morning in America,” “Willie Horton,” “the Daisy Girl,” and “3am Phone Call.” Fallows acknowledges that the ad is factually flawed, as the “reasons why America fell” are all strategies used by the Chinese to fight recession, but concludes that the ad’s value as a tool of “persuasion and motivation” does not require it to make sense.

The ad promises to make a splash for another reason: it uses subtitles, making it ripe for easy parody. Have at it, Internet.

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