4.+Evidence+and+Analysis



The Fair Pay Legislation of 2007: H.R.2831 Title: To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes.

The ad states that **John McCain does not believe in equal pay for women who perform the same work as men**. The ad provides evidence by citing **McCain’s decision to agree with the Republican majority on April 23, 2008 that blocked a Senate bill that would support equal pay for women**. The Senator opposed the bill because he felt it would lead to an increase of lawsuits. McCain told reporters, “"I am all in favor of pay equity for women, but this kind of legislation, as is typical of what's being proposed by my friends on the other side of the aisle, opens us up to lawsuits for all kinds of problems.” The ad uses the evidence to support the position that McCain would not provide equal opportunities for women if he were elected President.

The advertisement was dubbed “Need Education”, but it wasn’t aimed at teaching schoolchildren. Instead it was turning Senator McCain’s words against him. The ad **claimed that McCain did not believe in equal pay for women and that he supported his belief by saying women need more education**. The evidence used in the ad was McCain's opposition of the Fair Pay legislation. In response to the query of why he opposed against the bill that would grant equal pay to women, he stated, “"They need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else." The ad was **correct in its claim that McCain opposed the bill and dismissed the wage gap**. However, the ad did portray McCain’s quote about women needing education out of context in order to better make the point. It also did not mention that McCain did not actually vote against the bill because he skipped the vote to campaign in Kentucky. The ad also **claimed that women are discriminated against in the workplace because they do not receive the same wages as men**. The Obama campaign chose Lilly Ledbetter to narrate the advertisement. She claimed that she had worked for the Goodyear Company for 19 years without receiving the same wages as her male colleagues. By suing the company, Ledbetter’s Supreme Court caseled to the creation of the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007.McCain refers to this case in his statement that equal pay would cause additional lawsuits as women demand equal payment. **Ledbetter's claim of receiving less money than men is supported by statistics of her earnings compared to those of men performing the same job**.



This advertisement is **effective** because it provided accurate support that proved the claim was correct. It addressed the issue appropriately by stating evidence and it emotionalized the ad by incorporating Lilly Ledbetter’s testimonial.

Strengths: Weaknesses:
 * The emotional appeal would influence the audience, especially women, who can relate or sympathize with Ledbetter’s experience.
 * The testimonial causes an emotional response, which combined with the support evidence, turns voters against McCain and the policies he represents.
 * Used accurate evidence to support claims.
 * The ad was lacking evidence that Obama supports equal pay for women. This could be proved by providing the salaries of all his employees to compare what the men and women make for performing the same jobs.
 * It would also have been stronger if the ad promoted Obama in a positive light without directly attacking McCain. This would show that Obama is the better man and doesn’t need to put his opponents down in order to succeed.

In conclusion, while the ad could be made stronger, it effectively delivered Obama’s message.