Maybe you’ve heard what has been dubbed the "Ferris wheel" radio attack ad targeting John McCain.
"Well, the Iraqi government is finally spending some of its $79 billion surplus from oil," begins a scratchy voice over the sound of carnival music. “Where’s the money going? A Ferris wheel."
The ad, which has been playing on several radio stations in Colorado and other battleground states, goes on to describe the 650-foot-high Ferris wheel that Iraqi politicians hope to construct in Baghdad’s al-Zawra Park. "It’s enough to make your head spin," the ad continues. "John McCain wants America to keep spending $10 billion a month in Iraq when we should be rebuilding America."
The irony is that even though the project is being used against McCain, the man who holds a fifty-year lease on al-Zawra Park, Llewellyn Werner -- the subject of a Westword feature article -- has given tens of thousands of dollars to the Democratic Party over the past decade and is a supporter of Barack Obama.
Once a key advisor for former California governor (and perennial Democratic presidential hopeful) Jerry Brown, Werner is now operating numerous investment projects in Iraq, including the construction of a $500 million amusement park in al-Zawra Park called the Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience.
Read more about Werner and his scheme in the October 2 Westword. -- Jared Jacang Maher
