McCain's Olympics attack ads debated

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The wisdom of likely Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain's move to run political attack ads during Olympics coverage is debatable, analysts say.

McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, is running ads criticizing his probable Democratic Party presidential opponent, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., during U.S. television coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games. In one ad, he uses footage of Obama being cheered by massive crowds in Germany as evidence of something bad, a move that one analyst says plays against the Olympics' international spirit of goodwill, USA Today reported Wednesday.

Given that the Olympics are about "the world and fellowship and the parade of nations," Ken Goldstein, head of the Wisconsin Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin, told the newspaper that "going after your opponent for being of the world (during the Olympics) seemed a bit jarring, a bit odd."

He said McCain risks being perceived as a killjoy by launching attack ads during a "feel-good" event like the Olympics, but another analyst told USA Today the strategy might pay off.

"They're using a gigantic stage to make their national case against Obama," said Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group. "It doesn't seem to be causing any uproar. They may have guessed right."