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Monday, May 5, 2008

Endgame In North Carolina & Indiana

Filed under Hillary Rodham ClintonFiled under Television Ad
Posted at 2:02 PM
Click here to watch "Determined."

Though her media team is already looking ahead to the upcoming Oregon primary, Hillary Rodham Clinton hasn't forgotten Indiana or North Carolina just yet. Since Thursday, her campaign has debuted four TV ads in those two states: an attack ad targeting Barack Obama, a new endorsement spot, an ad on kitchen-table issues in Indiana and a reworked version of an older ad contrasting Clinton's economic plans with those of President Bush.

The campaign's new attack ad running in both states takes issue with Obama's opposition to the proposed suspension of the gas tax, which Clinton says she would fund by diverting subsidies away from oil companies. "What has happened to Barack Obama?" an announcer asks. "He is attacking Hillary's plan to give you a break on gas prices because he doesn't have one." Reinforcing one of the key elements of Clinton's campaign, the announcer portrays her as more in touch with working people, claiming, "Hillary's the one who gets it."

In "Determined," which began airing Thursday, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley praises Clinton's ability to fight for health care, jobs and tax cuts, with an emphasis on "fight." "She is so resilient, so determined," he says in the ad. "She knows how to deliver." (Both Democrats running to replace Easley have endorsed Obama.)

Clinton's two other ads began airing in Indiana this weekend. In "Partner," she opens with some local references, mentioning that she has "talked to people from Terre Haute to Anderson to Evansville." The ad then proceeds to mix Clinton's own words with those of her supporters, explaining why her economic policies are best for the country. "Spoke Out," which ran previously in Pennsylvania, delivers a similar promise to listen to the economic concerns of ordinary Americans once in office.

Whatever effect Clinton's media budget ends up having on the final vote, her advisers have already started pointing to Obama's ad spending advantage as a factor to consider once the ballots are in. "In North Carolina and in Indiana, we started at a disadvantage, and we've been outspent in both states," said Clinton's chief strategist, Geoff Garin, in a conference call this morning. "I do think that's an important way to judge this -- by the progress we've made."