Obama Makes His Pitch in Prime Time

Barack Obama took to the primetime airwaves tonight with a 30-minute infomercial summing up his case for the presidency. The pitch, which cost more than $3 million and aired on seven broadcast and cable networks, blended images of the candidate, his family, and ordinary Americans, MSNBC reports. "I will not be a perfect president," Obama said in the ad. "But I can promise you this—I will always tell you what I think and where I stand."

The ad was unusual not so much for its message—Obama repeated a central theme by calling the economic crisis "a final verdict on eight years of failed polices"—but for the way it illustrated what a campaign flush with cash can do, MSNBC notes. The commercial ended with a live shot of Obama in Florida, telling Americans that "in six days, we can choose hope over fear and unity over division.” (More Barack Obama stories.)