Breaking: Obama Purchases One-Half Hour of Primetime on CBS

By GottaLaff

So I'm sitting here bangin' away at the ol' computer, trying like crazy to keep up with all these stories, when whaddya know? Paddy, of all people, e-mails me a link to this via DKos:

Barack Obama has purchased a half-hour of airtime on CBS, sources confirm.

The Obama campaign will air a half-hour primetime special on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m.

Sources say the Obama camp is also in talks with NBC and Fox. It’s not yet clear if an ad buy is locked on any other network, however, or if the special's duration or time period is the same.

A CBS spokesperson declined comment. The buy will push comedy "The New Adventures of Old Christine" to 8:30 p.m. and pre-empt "Gary Unmarried."

The direct purchase of such a large block of time is considered unusual in modern presidential politics, though not without precedent -- Ross Perot did a similar purchase in 1992.

This year has seen the first time in many years that presidential campaigns have bought national broadcast TV advertisements. In the past 12 years, much of the billions of dollars in political advertising spent has gone to local TV stations in battleground states. While some money has gone to national cable channels, the thinking has always been that it would be more prudent to target battleground states' voters instead of addressing the entire nation, including states that reliably vote for one party or another.

As the Kos Diarist turneresq points out, this must mean Obama's September donation totals went through the roof in order to afford a buy like this one. We're talking prime time network, folks. If he can get a meaningful, clear message out, watch his already rising numbers shoot all the way to the stars and beyond.

Yes. We. Can.