Jack Kingston, an 11-term congressman from Georgia, is one of seven Republicans running in the state’s Senate primary. To stand out from the crowd, he made this ad featuring a President Obama voice impersonator. The video consists of black-and-white photos of the real Obama looking concerned and talking on the phone while the fake Obama (who is no Jordan Peele) leaves Kingston a desperate voicemail begging him to “back off Obamacare.”
“You voted 40 times to defund it,” fake Obama reminds Kingston and those watching at home. “You demanded I signup. Kingston, let me be clear, I do not want you in the Senate.” Goofy, yes, but the truly weird thing about the ad is the title: “Call Me, Maybe,” which, as you may recall, is the name of Carly Rae Jepsen’s wonderful breakout single. Yet Kingston’s version makes no reference to the original — there is no addictive hook, no lip-syncing teen celebrities, no discussion of whether giving a stranger your number is “crazy.” Was Kingston hoping that undecided voters nostalgic for 2012 would stumble across his message while searching for Jepsen’s hit? Is his campaign manager a sneaky 15-year-old girl? Or is it just a strange coincidence? The people of Georgia’s GOP deserve an answer.
