Clinton's 3 a.m. Girl Campaigns for Obama

The SD Blogosphere has offered some discussion of the Clinton "3 a.m." ad, in which we are assured that if we want to protect our children, we want President Clinton, not President Obama.

Well, the little girl shown slumbering through a 3 a.m. international crisis, Casey Knowles, is actually a soon-to-be 18-year-old high school senior in Washington state. And she's not losing any sleep over the prospect of an Obama presidency. As a matter of fact, she's campaigning for him:

"What I don't like about the ad is its fear-mongering," Knowles told ABC's "Good Morning America Weekend Edition" on Sunday. "I think it's a cheap hit to take. I really prefer Obama's message of looking forward to a bright future" [AP, "Girl in Clinton Ad Supports Obama," Yahoo News, 2008.03.09].

The footage of eight-year-old Casey comes from an old railroad company ad now available as stock footage through Getty Images. The Clinton campaign's ad has already drawn an Obama response and a slew of YouTube spoofs. The Obama campaign has already contacted Miss Knowles; we'll see if Miss Knowles gets a follow-up ad.