Barack Obama has denied any knowledge or connection to the previously unknown creator of the hugely enjoyable “1984” Hillary ad that John wrote about here yesterday. No sooner had John written about the ad than its creator was revealed as Philip de Vellis, the employee of an Internet consulting firm working for Senator Obama. De Vellis said he had created the ad on his own time at his apartment on a Sunday afternoon using his own gear without the knowledge of his employer or the Obama campaign. Blue State has released the following statement:
Pursuant to company policy regarding outside political work or commentary on behalf of our clients or otherwise, Mr. de Vellis has been terminated from Blue State Digital effective immediately.
Blue State Digital is under contract with the Obama Campaign for technology pursuits including software development and hosting. Additionally, one of our founding partners is on leave from the company to work directly for the campaign at headquarters.
However, Blue State Digital is not currently engaged in any relationship with the Obama Campaign for creative or non-technical services.
Mr. de Vellis created this video on his own time. It was done without the knowledge of management, and was in no way tied to his work at the firm or our formal engagement [on technology pursuits] with the Obama campaign.
The AP story and Chicago Tribune note on the revelation are both of interest. Hugh Hewitt asks a rhetorical question: “What would the MSM be saying if the ad had come out of a shop working for one of the GOP’s big three?” Hint: Hugh titles his post: “What did Senator Obama know and when did he know it?” Josh Gerstein comments here, Patrick Ruffini here.
UPDATE: Ben Smith of The Politico reports in his post “From dirty tricks to citizen ads,” that the creator of the ad has been shadowed by “dirty tricks” allegations in the past.
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