<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[The Dish]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[http://dish.andrewsullivan.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Andrew Sullivan]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://dish.andrewsullivan.com/author/sullydish/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Ad War Update: Todd&nbsp;Achin&#8217;]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>The Romney campaign is highlighting his debate performance with two new ads (buy size/scope unknown). The first:</p> <p><iframe frameborder="0" height="290" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7iBCEAdO0Tc" width="515"></iframe></p> <p>The other, near-identical ad is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=6OD5Uyca36M" target="_self">here</a>. Notice how they take advantage of the visual gift Obama offered by looking down at the podium so much. It&#39;s also worth noting that the Romney campaign appears to have stopped indicating where their ads will air or how much they will put behind them. That being said, Politico has a <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82217.html">big story</a> up today about the campaign&#39;s peculiar ad-buying operation:</p> <blockquote> <p>Unlike other presidential campaigns, which typically outsource their ad reservations and placement to specialized firms with large teams that know how to make the most of the complicated FCC payment procedures, Romney does all his TV buying in-house through a lean operation headed by a single chief buyer. The campaign rarely buys cable ad time, focusing overwhelmingly on broadcast television. Romney places his commercials on a week-to-week basis, rather than booking time well in advance, and typically pays more so that his ads don’t get preempted and to spare his campaign the hassle of haggling over time as prices rise.</p> </blockquote> <p>According the Politico&#39;s digging, the strategy seems to mean the Romney campaign has been far overpaying for its ads. Meanwhile, the RNC gets in the Halloween mood for this new web video showing Biden as a tax bogeyman:</p> <p><iframe frameborder="0" height="290" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JWIFGFYM6Mk" width="515"></iframe></p> <p>The <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/joe-biden-yes-we-do-want-to-raise-taxes-by-1-trillion/" target="_self">full quote</a> from Biden is much less ominous, of course:</p> <blockquote> <p>You know what they say? ‘Obama and Biden want to raise taxes by $1  trillion.’ Guest What? Yes we do, in one regard. We want to let that  trillion dollar tax cut expire so the middle class doesn’t have to bear  the burden of all that money going to the super wealthy. That’s not a tax rate hike. That’s called fairness where I come from.</p> </blockquote> <p>From the other side of the trail, the Obama campaign gets flashy in this youth-focused web ad that uses Romney&#39;s Harvard degrees against him (ad buy size/scope unknown):</p> <p><iframe frameborder="0" height="290" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Yx3-AWouTy8" width="515"></iframe></p> Meanwhile, in Missouri, Claire McCaskill is hammering Todd Akin over his &quot;legitimate rape&quot; comment with not one but three brutal ads featuring testimonials from survivors of sexual assault:</p>]]></html></oembed>