Glenn Beck's 'insanely melodramatic' 8/28 rally commercial

The video: Glenn Beck, the conservative-leaning Fox News host, is set to take Washington D.C. by storm this weekend with his "Restoring Honor" rally. Though the event, held on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, has drawn criticism from liberal-minded pundits and civil rights groups, Beck has been purposefully vague about the rally's aims, beyond promising that it will celebrate American values and not be a political event. To build anticipation, he's produced what The Huffington Post has called an "insanely melodramatic" four-minute commercial for the rally that implicitly compares it to great moments in American history.

The reaction: "So over-the-top that you wonder if it really is a parody," this video will only add to the "LeBron-level hype" surrounding this event, says Ted Johnson at Variety. No wonder even "Beck's ostensible allies" are of two minds about the rally. "Back off Beck," counters James Carafano at Politico. People had issues with MLK's rally too: "Maybe there is a lesson there for the critics." Watch the teaser video:

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