Country ... USA
Politics 2012 ... Mitt Romney

Mitt Slaps Obama Singing Ad, Foiled By Copyright Claim ... but then Mitt Romney's tax returns again take center stage

COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Mitt Slaps Obama Singing Ad, Foiled By Copyright Claim

Mitt Slaps Obama Singing Ad, Foiled By Copyright Claim. President Obama recently jeered at Mitt Romney with a campaign ad featuring Romney's terrible rendition of 'America the Beautiful.' Team Romney's attempted shot back, using a clip of Obama singing 'Let's Stay Together,' fell short on a couple of levels: Obama can actually sing (Wonkette's headline: 'Romney Campaign Pounces Back With Devastating Ad of Obama Singing Well'), and the Romney ad got hit with a copyright claim from BMG and was yanked from YouTube. The Obama ad doesn't have that problem, since 'America the Beautiful' is in the public domain, Politico notes.

Romney's campaign is arguing their use of 'Let's Stay Together' is allowable under fair use, and trying to get the ad back up—but it will take at least 10 days. Until then, so that you're not left in suspense: The ad was called 'Political Payoffs and Middle-Class Layoffs,' and it featured 'the president singing well for a few seconds while the unemployment rate is high,' writes Jim Newell on Wonkette. 'Even worse, it reveals that the Obama campaign funds itself with money from 'donors,' who congregate at secret gatherings known as 'fundraisers.' This hush-hush arrangement flies in the face of the campaign's official story that all of its money is cut from the tanned leather of locally raised unicorn.' In the ad, Obama sings the line, 'I'm so in love with you' to his donors, Talking Points Memo notes, underscoring that Obama donors are flourishing while others struggle.