Like many, the Obamas have taken to YouTube to encourage voters to get to the polls, but if the comments in reaction to their urging are any indication, the ads will do little to help their cause.
YouTube viewers have made their opinions known on the message boards en masse, disparaging and voicing their displeasure with the Obama administration.
The most recent Obama ad, released Monday and visible on his YouTube channel, features a close up of the first couple, Barack with his American flag lapel pin and Michelle in a dark cardigan, directly addressing their viewers.
“Hello everybody it’s Barack and Michelle,” Obama begins.
“Election Day is almost here and people are getting fired up,” Mrs. Obama cheers.
“And we need you to stay fired up, all the way until November 2nd,” President Obama adds.
Their encouragement is falling on hostile ears, if the popularity of comments from the likes of TeSigoSenor are any indication: “This encourages me more to vote Republican or anyone else against their policies…Mr President, please go back to the White House and think about getting jobs for the people of America. We are hurting….we are pleading.”
The sheer number of negative responses to the ad makes any positive reactions, within the more than 550 comments, practically invisible.
A week earlier, Mrs. Obama appeared in an online plea again for votes — to more vitriol and harsh comments. MrEbonyman, for example, like most, did not pull any punches. “Honey i will call you a fat pig right to your fat face. When a person tells me i need to stop smoking i tell them they need to stop feeding their fat ass,” the commentator wrote in reference to Mrs. Obama’s health campaign.
NZKOF was more direct. “Just say No to Democrats and Obama control,” he wrote.
In comparison to Monday’s ad, the comments were more mixed, but negativity still reigned in the comment section.
If reaction to President Obama’s recent activity on his own YouTube channel is any indication — and, if anything, it is a minor to be sure — the administration has a long way to go to “fire up” the voters.