Christine O’Donnell: “I’m Not A Witch”

Christine O’Donnell is out with her first ad of the campaign:

Washington (CNN) – Playing off of her admission that she dabbled in witchcraft in high school, Delaware Senate Republican nominee Christine O’Donnell will launch her first television ad of the general election on Tuesday, in which she looks straight into the camera and tells the audience “I am not a witch. I’m nothing you’ve heard. I am you.”

The last part of that line clearly references some of the unflattering information that has come to light in the last few weeks about O’Donnell, including inconsistencies in what she has said about her education and her personal and business financial problems.

In an effort to make herself accessible O’Donnell says, “None of us are perfect.”

Tea Party backed candidate then transitions in the ad to her core message that change is needed in Washington.

“None of us can be happy with what we see all around us. Politicians who think spending, trading favors and back-room deals are the ways to stay in office.”

She finishes the ad vowing to “…go to Washington and do what you’d do. I’m Christine O’Donnell, and I approved this message. I’m you.”

Here’s the ad itself:

Will it work ?

To be honest, the reason Christine O’Donnell was down 16 points in the last two-way poll wasn’t because of a flippant comment about witchcraft 15 years ago. The voters in Delaware have gotten to know her over the past four years, and they clearly don’t like what they see.

This ad may help close the gap somewhat, but it’s not going to win the election for her.

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Anon says:

    I think that if you need to deny being a witch, then you’ve really already lost.

  2. mantis says:

    She turned me into a newt.

  3. anjin-san says:

    One of the stranger political commercials I have seen, but then she is kind of a strange chick. Really, just another Palin. If not for her looks, no one outside of her home town would have ever heard of her.

  4. MarkedMan says:

    Anyone remember Nixon’s “I am not a crook” speech? Left my whole generation with the opinion that he was a crook. Will an entire of generation of Delawarians (?) be convinced O’Donnell is a witch? She better watch out if the radical Christian fundamentalists prevail. Stay away from large piles of wood, Christine!

  5. sam says:

    BS! It’s a well-established fact that witches engage in Waqiyya (pronounced Whacky-Yaya). She’s lying.

  6. John Personna says:

    Does she weigh more than a duck?

  7. John Personna says:

    “Quiet, quiet, quiet, QUIET! There are ways of *telling* whether she is a witch!”

    “(very slowly, with pauses between each word) If…she…weighs the same as a duck……she’s made of wood.

    and therefore…

    (pause)

    A Witch!”

  8. Mr. Prosser says:

    Ahh, Monty Python, so prescient. What major political problems haven’t they addressed?

  9. John Personna says:

    The hilarious thing about the scene is that after the rediculous chain of logic, the woman says “it’s a fair cop.”

  10. It is amazing that she thought that the witch stuff was worthy of addressing.

    The “I’m You” tagline is a pretty good one, but the commercial itself is pretty bad.

  11. Steven,

    Even from a technical POV I agree it’s bad. She’s wearing dark clothing against a dark background, the lighting is way too harsh. Unless it looks different on TV than on YouTube, I’d really have doubts about whoever produced this ad

  12. Oh boy. O’Donnell has apparently never heard of the Streisand Effect

  13. mantis says:

    I got better.

  14. N Waff says:

    ======================
    I LOVE the auto-tune rendering of Christine O’Donnell’s “I’m Not A Witch” – it works very well for her.
    ======================

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&v=44mqiBrB0zI