There's a new contender for the most strategically provocative political ad of 2010. This week, Republican Arizona congressional candidate Ben Quayle, son of former vice president Dan Quayle, released a commercial calling Barack Obama "the worst president in history." Quayle, who's battling Tea Party favorite Vernon Parker for a safe GOP seat, goes on to say that "somebody needs to go to Washington and knock the hell out of the place." Quayle's catching flak from "the Obama cheering section," says Hugh Hewitt at Townhall, but he's only "bluntly" saying "what millions are thinking," given that Obama's presided over some of the biggest job losses in the nation's history. At the very least, says Alex Pareene in Salon, Quayle's "creepy, stilted...[if] hilarious" message will distract attention from his first mini-scandal — the recent news that he once wrote racy material for the website DirtyScottsdale.com. Watch the controversial ad:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
July 6 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include paying for school lunch by enlisting, and the banality of evil
-
5 biting editorial cartoons about 'Alligator Alcatraz'Cartoons Artists take on dangerous green things, historical precedent, and more
-
A journey into the deep past on beautiful ArranThe Week Recommends New Unesco Global Geopark played a 'key role' in the birth of modern geological science
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: which party are the billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to goThe Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala HarrisThe Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
