The California senate race is heating up. Tom Campbell (congressman/law professor/business school dean/Director of Finance for the State of California extraordinaire) has recently entered the race for the right to be the Republican who challenges Barbara Boxer in November. Immediately, polls showed that Campbell was already beating his opponents for the Republican nomination, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina and Chuck DeVore. A January 21 Field Poll had Tom Campbell at 30% and Carly Fiorina at 25%.
Clearly, the Fiorina campaign felt like they needed to strike back against Tom Campbell. So they created a campaign ad that will never be forgotten. Time blogger Michael Scherer calls it “psychedelic.” At the end comes the “evil, menacing, vaguely cybernetic sheep with glowing red eyes.” Perhaps it’s best to just watch it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo7HiQRM7BA
Will this campaign ad spell the end of the Fiorina campaign, or will its unique eccentricities (or perhaps absurdities) propel Fiorina to fame? The ad calls fiscal conservatives pious, “true-believers.” It cuts back and forth from Campbell to sheep and pigs. My favorite part is the end, when we get to actually see the dreaded FCINO. Ultimately, this ad looks like the promo for an SNL skit. 
In fact, I would have thought it was a joke at first, had I not received it by email directly from Fiorina’s campaign.
Also baffling is the creation of the acronym: FCINO. It might be more catchy if people could actually pronounce it, or even remember what it stands for (“Fiscal Conservative in Name Only”). But the Fiorina campaign is really pushing it, especially with this website.
While I don’t believe FCINO will catch on quickly, I do believe this video will go viral, at least in the political sphere. After getting over the initial shock of, well, everything, I actually feel like I should take a look at Campbell’s fiscal record. Perhaps other viewers will do the same. Or perhaps they will just laugh.
Update
Tom Campbell’s campaign sent out an email to his supporters in response to Fiorina’s video. The email calls the FCINO a demon sheep and states that the Fiorina campaign is “hitting the panic button.” The email then provides a link to a contribution page for Campbell where visitors can watch the video and feel inclined to contribute to his campaign.