GOP to Run Ads on Terror Issue; Dean and MoveOn respond
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After months of sustained attacks against President Bush in Democratic primary debates and commercials, the Republican Party is responding this week with its first advertisement of the presidential race, portraying Mr. Bush as fighting terrorism while his potential challengers try to undermine him with their sniping.
The new commercial gives the first hint of the themes Mr. Bush's campaign is likely to press in its early days. It shows Mr. Bush, during the last State of the Union address, warning of continued threats to the nation: "Our war against terror is a contest of will, in which perseverance is power," he says after the screen flashes the words, "Some are now attacking the president for attacking the terrorists."
The RNC is spending $100,000 for the initial broadcast of the ad. Watch the ad.
The Dean campaign is responding with a $360,000 bat to air a new Dean ad:
Misled
TV script -- 30 seconds
Narrator: The president misled us about weapons of mass destruction.
And we went to war when we shouldn't have.
Howard Dean is committed to fighting terrorism and protecting our national security.
But Howard Dean has been opposed to the war in Iraq from the beginning.
He believes it's time to have a foreign policy consistent with American values.
And it's time to restore the dignity and respect our country deserves around the world.
Howard Dean: I'm Howard Dean and I approve this message because our party and our country need new leadership.
Commenters on the Dean blog are encouraging the campaign to punch up the ad. (Author's note: Damn, that was fast!)
The MoveOn Voter Fund is responding with a $500,000 fundraising campaign TODAY (as part of the $10 million they're raising for swing state advertising in January). As of about 3:30 my time, they're already 80% of the way there.
This post is a little preview of a new site I'll be lauching soo to cover the 2004 campaign advertising and brainstorm new ads.