Click here to watch "Better Off."

Progressive Future, progressive advocacy group that is backing Barack Obama, is making a last-minute appeal to Reagan Democrats using none other than Ronald Reagan himself.

Their new TV spot, "Better Off" (subscription), uses footage of a famous moment in Reagan's 1980 presidential debate with Jimmy Carter to try to win over undecided voters. "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" Reagan asked in 1980. Plummeting stock prices and video footage of Osama bin Laden and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina play on screen as Reagan speaks about economic security and America's standing in the world. "If you don’t think that this course that we’ve been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have," Reagan says as a photo of Obama fills the screen.

“With our economy in crisis and our soldiers still at war, Ronald Reagan’s question is as relevant today as it was in 1980,” said Progressive Future political director Brad Martin in a press release. The group cites data from Gallup that shows over 90 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. In addition to running the TV ad in Ohio and Florida, Progressive Future will spend the last 96 hours of the election on volunteer mobilization and get-out-the-vote efforts.

Click here to watch "Meghan."

The Service Employees International Union is putting nearly a half million dollars behind an ad -- running in Ohio only -- that criticizes John McCain for supporting policies that it says resulted in American jobs going overseas.

"Meghan" (subscription), started running in this pivotal battleground state Thursday. The spot features Meghan Cofield, a Dayton factor worker who saw her job move to China. The group chides McCain for supporting the North American Free Trade Act, which the SEIU asserts allows companies to receive tax benefits for exporting jobs overseas.

While both candidates have led in Ohio over the last several months, the latest polling data compiled from Pollster.com shows Barack Obama's numbers going up while McCain's trending downward.

Click here to watch "Crist."

John McCain is largely absent from three of his latest ads, which instead star two popular members of his own party -- as well as his opponent, Barack Obama.

"Crist" (subscription), released Thursday, features Florida Gov. Charlie Crist touting his support for McCain. The ad stays positive, showering the Arizona senator with praise for being a reformer dedicated to bipartisanship. "Our next president will face enormous challenges. For me, the choice is clear," Crist says. "John McCain is an American hero."

Crist's endorsement couldn't come at a more crucial time. His state, which has leaned Obama since mid-September, has been the recipient of the most ad dollars by both campaigns and the Republican National Committee. According to a new report [PDF] by the Wisconsin Advertising Project, McCain and the RNC spent almost $1.5 million in the Sunshine State for the week of Oct. 21-28, while Obama doled out a whopping $4.6 million there.

A McCain/RNC radio ad released today in Virginia, "Cuts" (subscription), features Sen. John Warner, R-Va., asserting that McCain will protect Virginia's defense industry from "Obama's liberal colleagues in Congress," who he says plan to "cut defense spending by 25 percent." Virginia, another battleground state that started trending blue in mid-September, is also among the states drawing the most ad dollars, according to the Wisconsin Advertising Project.

In addition to Crist and Warner, even McCain's opponent is unwittingly enlisted for the cause in another new ad. "Obama Praises McCain" (subscription) airs footage of the Illinois senator in January 2007 hailing McCain's "outstanding leadership" on greenhouse gas legislation.

Other recent spots released by the McCain camp and the RNC have followed this pattern. Crist previously starred in another McCain/RNC spot, "Spreading The Wealth" (subscription), as did country music star Hank Williams Jr. (subscription).

Click here to watch "Something."

Ahead in the polls and confident about his ground game, Barack Obama is making a final push with two new TV ads that encapsulate his campaign's double-edged strategy of criticizing John McCain while also trying to inspire supporters. The ad buys for these final spots are also representative of the way the campaign is playing out, with Obama pushing further and further into red territory, even McCain's home state.

"Rearview Mirror" (subscription) brings home Obama's argument on the economy and on McCain's relationship with President Bush. The spot shows a man driving a truck down the road, as an announcer asks: "Wonder where John McCain would take the economy? Look behind you." An image of Bush pops up in the rearview mirror. Signs along the road detail how McCain's policies are a direct continuation of Bush's, according to the Obama camp. Finally, the driver looks back in the mirror to see images of Bush and McCain together, as the announcer repeats the now-familiar tagline: "We can't afford more of the same."

In "Something" (subscription), on the other hand, Obama seeks to inspire viewers to become part of the movement that he has created during the course of his campaign. "Something's happening in America -- in small towns and big cities," the announcer observes as the camera pans across large, diverse crowds of Obama supporters. "People from every walk of life uniting in common purpose." The ad touts some of Obama's biggest endorsements, from Warren Buffett and Colin Powell, before showing a clip of one of his characteristically rousing speeches. "We can choose hope over fear, and unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo," he says to huge applause.

The Illinois senator is releasing his new ads in three states that voted overwhelmingly for Bush in 2004 and should have been safe territory for McCain -- Georgia, North Dakota and McCain's home state of Arizona. New data released by the Wisconsin Ad Project [PDF] shows that, during the week of October 21-28, three-quarters of Obama's and McCain's advertising dollars were spent in red states, demonstrating that McCain is, in fact, playing defense.

MoveOn.org is also purchasing time in Arizona to re-air "Obamacan" (subscription), the spot that won the group's "Obama in 30 Seconds" ad contest back in May. It features Air Force veteran John Weiler, who says that although he's "been a Republican since before I could actually vote," he's supporting Obama this year.

Pollster.com shows McCain up by an average of six points in Arizona, but Democrats clearly feel the race is close enough to warrant spending some resources there.

Click here to listen to the 30-second spot and here for the 60-second spot.

Quadrennial presidential candidate Ralph Nader hit the airwaves Tuesday with two new radio ads -- his first advertising buy of the election season -- to decry the financial bailout and offer himself as an alternative to the two major-party candidates.

"How much more political garbage will you take from the Republicans and Democrats?" the ad’s narrator asks. "On November 4, you have a choice: the bailout boys McCain and Obama, or Ralph Nader, the man who for more than 40 years has stood with you against Wall Street crime and Washington corruption."

The 30- and 60-second spots are running in 22 markets in 12 states -- including battlegrounds like Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. But Jason Kafoury, Nader’s national campaign coordinator, insisted that Nader is not trying to run as a spoiler.

The decision on where to run the ads was based on where the campaign has the strongest numbers. Kafoury pointed to a CNN/Time poll [PDF] released today that shows Nader with 3-4 percent support in Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

And Nader is siphoning most of those votes from John McCain, not Barack Obama, Kafoury added.

"Independents that would vote for McCain are breaking towards third-party candidates," Kafoury said.

Nader, 74, has run in four consecutive presidential elections. In 1996 and 2000, he was the Green Party's nominee; in 2004 and this year, he has run as an independent.

All ad summary pages are available to subscribers only.

Idaho Senate (tip sheet)

• Former Republican Gov. Jim Risch touts his executive record and his plans for turning the economy around in "Jim Risch Just Gets Things Done."

Kentucky Senate (tip sheet)

• In a new ad from Bruce Lunsford (D), a Kentucky man chases down Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) with "Hound Dogs" as the incumbent tries "running away from his record."

• And in "Hillary," Lunsford receives the endorsement of the New York senator.

Maine Senate (tip sheet)

• Republican Susan Collins, seeking to defend her seat, cites statistics to show she's been more effective in Washington than her opponent, Rep. Tom Allen (D), in "Scorecard."

• Allen goes after Collins for standing with Bush on major issues in "Right," while Maine voters discuss why they are switching their vote from Collins this year in "Voting Record."

Continue reading "The Week In Political Ads" »

Click here to watch "Surgeon."

After employing images of a "Chair" (subscription) and a "Storm" (subscription) to question Barack Obama's ability to lead in uncertain times, the Republican National Committee is once again using vivid symbolism to lambaste the Democrat, in a new ad released this morning.

"Surgeon" (subscription), the final installment of what RNC spokesman Brad Todd says is the party's "closing argument," begins with an announcer asking, in a grave tone: "Would you get on a plane with a pilot who has never flown? Would you trust your child with someone who has never cared for children? Would you go under with a surgeon who has never operated?" The ad then draws a parallel between these scenarios and the prospect of an Obama presidency, citing a quote from the Irish Sunday Independent: "Can you hand your nation to a man who has 'never been in charge of anything?' Can you wait while he learns?"

The original quote, published in mid-September, was actually targeted at Joe Biden: "Obama chose a charisma-free windbag who is the archetypal Washington insider and -- like Hillary [Rodham Clinton] and Obama himself -- has never been in charge of anything."

"Surgeon" is running in Ohio, Indiana, Florida and Virginia, which are among the same handful of battlegrounds where John McCain is focusing his ad dollars as well.

The RNC also released a Spanish version of "Storm" today in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., markets. This pivotal state, which was lining up solidly in the McCain column until mid-September, is now leaning toward Obama by at least a handful of percentage points in various national polls, according to Pollster.com.

The RNC is wrapping up its on-air efforts in Colorado, Pennsylvania and the once-solid red states of West Virginia, Montana and North Carolina as well. According to a press release, the party is in the process of spending more than $25 million in the last two weeks leading up to Nov. 4.

Updated Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008.

Barack Obama's 30-minute infomercial -- estimated to cost $3.5-4 million -- is getting mostly rave reviews from the commentariat. But what do the voters think?

According to Nielson's ratings, they at least tuned in. Overall, 21.7 percent of households watching TV at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night were tuned to one of the six networks that aired the extended ad. Ross Perot, the last presidential candidate to run this type of longer pitch, garnered 16.8 percent of viewers with a spot on Election Day in 1992. The first presidential debate between Obama and John McCain received a 34.7 percent rating and the final debate 38.3 percent.

As for McCain's complaints that Obama was delaying the start of the World Series game, Phillies and Rays fans didn't seem to hold it against him -- the Philadelphia and West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Fla., markets ranked second and third highest in the ratings, coming in just behind Baltimore.

UPDATE: Nielsen has reported that that 21.7 percent of households translates to 33.5 million viewers for Obama's ad. On an average Wednesday night, the networks on which the spot aired attract a combined 30.3 million viewers.

Click here to watch "Dictators Mock Obama's Ignorance."

In the closing days of the presidential race, John McCain and the GOP are returning to a theme that was previously a centerpiece of their campaign against Barack Obama but faded during the past several months: that electing a president with as little foreign policy experience as Obama is dangerous during this uncertain time.

Our Country Deserves Better PAC is also seizing on the experience mantra in a humorous new ad (subscription) released on national cable and on broadcast TV in several targeted states, including Michigan, on Wednesday. Actors playing world leaders hostile to America, including Kim Jong Il of North Korea, Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, are shown sitting around a conference table under a banner that reads: "The League Of Rogue Nations." The phone rings and is answered by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "Obama wants to meet," he tells his colleagues. "No preconditions!" Castro cheers.

Given the option of choosing the time and place, Ahmadinejad goes on to dismiss the person on the other end of the line. "Tuesday is no good. Thursday we enrich uranium. I mean, we have our bowling league," he says. Insisting that they are busy "all week," he tells the imaginary Obama representative: "We’ll get back to you." An announcer chimes in, concluding that Obama is "no match for America’s enemies."

"We wanted to cut through the clutter of so many political ads with something that was funny and different," said PAC coordinator Joe Wierzbicki, adding that the group is putting at least $150,000 behind the new spot. "We think this will be an effective means by which to remind people that Obama has almost zero foreign policy experience, and has already provoked controversy over remarks he has made in the realms of foreign policy and national defense."

Our Country Deserves Better PAC wrapped up a 15-day "Stop Obama" road trip in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, after hitting battleground states Nevada, Colorado, Michigan and Ohio, among others.

The latest ad coverage from CongressDaily reports Democrats are pouring even more money into House races nationwide -- and increasingly tapping into anti-trade sentiment. All stories are available for subscribers only.

• "The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reported making another $10 million in independent expenditures this week, including more than $929,000 for a TV ad linking Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., to President Bush on the economy," Darren Goode reports.

• "Free-trade advocates could face a lonely 111th Congress if the Democrats' campaign rhetoric is any indication," reports Peter Cohn. "References to 'job-killing trade deals,' outsourcing and anti-China sentiment abound, with more than 100 trade-related advertisements and counting."

• "Maine Democratic Rep. Tom Allen is denouncing GOP Sen. Susan Collins over campaign ads noting he has missed 157 votes," CongressDaily staff report. "Many of the missed votes occurred as his wife fought breast cancer and his parents were dying, Allen said Tuesday."

Click here to watch "Gianna Responds."

Gianna Jessen, an abortion survivor who was featured in a September TV ad by the anti-abortion group BornAliveTruth.org, is speaking out in a new spot (subscription) against what she calls personal attacks by Barack Obama.

"Seen this ad? In it, Senator Obama personally attacks me," Jessen says of an Obama campaign spot that called her previous ad with the 527 group a "despicable lie." Jessen assures viewers that she's "dealt with worse. I’ve survived an abortion." She then reiterates the message from her first ad, that Obama has voted repeatedly against providing medical care for infants who survive abortions. She also recounts Obama's comment during a forum at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in August that determining when babies are endowed with human rights is "above his pay grade."

BornAliveTruth.org is spending about $90,000 to run the new spot in Cleveland between now and Election Day. The group has also gotten some help from Focus on the Family Action, James Dobson's Colorado-based organization that advocates for family issues, which has agreed to spend $500,000 airing a radio version of Jessen's first TV ad on Colorado stations.

"We want to make sure voters are aware of Barack Obama’s extreme stance on abortion," BornAliveTruth.org Executive Director Jill Stanek said in a press release.

Click here to view "An Outlaw's Worst Nightmare."

John McCain says he's a maverick, but the National Rifle Association would prefer a ranger. A Texas Ranger, to be precise.

The NRA began airing a 45-second TV spot (subscription) Tuesday featuring martial arts icon Chuck Norris, a familiar face in Republican politics this election cycle.

"If some thug breaks into my home, I can use my roundhouse kick, but I’d prefer he look down the barrel of my gun," Norris says in the ad, which is heavy on rattlesnake shakes and has a soundtrack befitting a high-noon duel.

Continue reading "Chuck Norris Throws Down For The NRA" »

Click here to watch "Not This Time."

Millions of Americans are bound for the ballot box in less than a week and many more have taken advantage of early voting, so it's no surprise that the community advocacy group ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is in the spotlight.

John McCain's campaign and other Republicans charge that the group has created phony forms to register ineligible people and even fictitious characters like Mickey Mouse. The camp has also called for federal investigations into Barack Obama's ties to the group, claiming that the Democrat has given more than $800,000 in the last year to an organization that is a subsidiary for ACORN.

In response, ACORN today released an ad, "Not This Time" (subscription), that claims these allegations are just the latest in a string of efforts over the years to keep people from voting. Accompanied by the image of a black man getting older from frame to frame, an announcer laments that "it happened to him in 1960. In 1965. And again in 2000. He was intimidated so he wouldn't vote."

While most, if not all, third-party ads in this election have focused on attacking candidates on some issue or another, this spot differs in that it's an attempt by the group to defend itself from claims made against it. This is illustrated most clearly in the ad's closing line: "ACORN. Voting is your right. Protecting it is our job."

The spot also capitalizes on a series of voter intimidation lawsuits, particularly one against New Mexico Republicans, that ACORN is advocating for. The lawsuits, as well as the ad, were announced this morning at a press conference in Washington that was followed up by a conference call with reporters. These events, coupled with the ad's limited release (initial buy of $50,000 in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and D.C.), suggest that this spot is aimed primarily at the media and not voters themselves.

Indeed, in ACORN's conference call, Executive Director Steve Kest said the spot is running in those markets "because we’re trying to reach opinion leaders and policy makers who we would like see call on the McCain campaign to stop these efforts." He added, however, that as the group raises more money, it will look to run the ad in "more contested states." He also downplayed questions about Obama's involvement with the group, saying ACORN has "no relationship with the campaign whatsoever."

Before ACORN's press conference, the Republican National Committee released a statement by chief counsel Sean Cairncross that brushed off the lawsuits as "yet another attempt by this questionable organization to waste valuable taxpayer money and cloud their own record of voter registration fraud." The statement further asserts that Obama's ties to the ACORN subsidiary should "be scrutinized closely and both organizations should be denounced widely for implementing such low-brow tactics, which compromise the integrity of our nation’s electoral process."

Click here to watch "His Choice."

Barack Obama is set to air a 30-minute infomercial/campaign ad on network TV at 8 p.m. tonight. But that does not mean his campaign is letting up on its more traditional 30-second spots. Obama has released several new ads in "key states" this week, attacking John McCain on economic issues and touting his own proposals.

In "Tested" (subscription), the Obama camp responds to the controversy over comments by vice presidential candidate Joe Biden at a recent campaign fundraiser, in which he suggested that America's foes would initiate some kind of crisis to "test" Obama within his first six months of office.

"An economic meltdown. Two wars. And John McCain’s playing with audio tapes," an announcer charges, accusing McCain of distorting Biden's message in "Ladies And Gentlemen" (subscription), released last week. The announcer acknowledges that the "next president" will, in fact, "be tested" (implying that it is irrelevant whether Obama or McCain is elected), but he then introduces another part of Biden's comments left out of the McCain ad, in which the Delaware senator says that those who do "test" Obama will "find out this guy’s got steel in his spine."

Citing quotes from several newspaper editorials, the spot goes on to compare Obama's and McCain's reactions to the economic crisis, saying Obama has shown a "steady hand" while McCain has been "erratic." The real "risk" the country faces, the announcer concludes, is electing a president whose "policies follow in [President] Bush’s footsteps."

"His Choice" (subscription) also portrays McCain as inadequate to the task of fixing the economy, but goes a step further with a swipe at the GOP candidate's running mate, Sarah Palin. In this ad, text of three different McCain quotes appears on screen. ""The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should," reads one. The next says: "I might have to rely on a vice president that I select" for expertise on economic issues. Footage of Palin winking into the TV camera at the vice presidential debate appears, with the words "His choice?" superimposed.

Finally, "Better Off" catalogs the myriad economic challenges -- foreclosures, rising unemployment, falling wages -- facing Americans right now. "For too many, the American dream is fading," Obama chimes in, seeking to identify with working- and middle-class voters. "We need a new direction. Now. And that's why I'm running for president," he says directly into the camera.

Obama plans to use his half-hour spot tonight to make a "closing argument" to the American people, and such messages, focused on helping the middle class and changing the direction of the country, are sure to be at the heart of the address.

Click here to watch "TV Special."

John McCain is going for his David-and-Goliath moment. Cash-poor and trailing in the polls, the Arizona senator is launching a preemptive strike against Barack Obama's 30-minute prime-time TV address tonight with "TV Special" (subscription).

The ad opens by tweaking Obama with the terms of celebrity rhetoric that McCain used this summer: "Behind the fancy speeches, grand promises and TV specials lies the truth," an announcer says. The spot contrasts pictures of Obama speaking, including his infamous Berlin address, with others that embody the hot-button issues of the election. Images of soldiers, foreclosure signs and rows of cars flash across the screen while an announcer asserts that Obama "lacks the experience America needs. And it shows. His response to our economic crisis is to spend and tax our economy deeper into recession."

The last line of the ad is a notable change from McCain's other spots on the experience theme: "The fact is, Barack Obama's not ready yet." The word "yet" may appeal to those voters who are wary of the Democrat's lack of experience but still like the idea of him in the White House. By ending on that word, McCain is effectively saying that he's the safer bet now without entirely dismissing Obama.

Click here to watch "Gambling."

What do Paris Hilton and Britney Spears have in common with John McCain? According to a new ad (subscription) from a campaign finance advocacy group, it's their fondness for gambling. Campaign Money Watch takes it one step further, however, contending that the Republican nominee is not only "betting at casinos," he's also "gambling with their lobbyists."

The ad claims that gaming interests have contributed more than $1 million to McCain and the Arizona senator has become "gambling's go-to guy." The spot concludes by urging McCain to "walk away from special interests' money" and support the Fair Elections Now Act. The bill's Senate co-sponsors in 2007 included Barack Obama and Wisconsin Democrat Russell Feingold, who also co-sponsored McCain's own campaign finance reform legislation [PDF].

David Donnelly, executive director of Campaign Money Watch, said that Obama's withdrawal from the public finance system for the election only reiterates the notion that the current system is broken, and that new legislation, such as the Fair Elections Now Act, is a step toward fixing it. "We’re not going to hold a Republican or Democrat accountable for opting in or opting out of the system," he said. Instead, he said, the "barometer of where a candidate stands on public finance" should be whether they support this kind of reform.

Donnelly says the references to Spears and Hilton and the scrutiny of McCain's links to lobbyists are meant to be emblematic of the issues that have come up in the election. The group previously attacked McCain in June with an ad that questioned his involvement, by way of lobbyist connections, in an Air Force contract that went to Airbus, a French company, instead of the American company Boeing.

Click here to watch "El Sueno Americano."

Barack Obama is capping off what his campaign claims is "the most aggressive Spanish-language media effort in presidential campaign history" with a series of new TV and radio ads released Monday. In addition, Obama announced that, along with his purchase of 30 minutes of prime-time TV on CBS, NBC and Fox News, he will also run a half-hour spot on Univision at 8 p.m. Wednesday night.

Obama's final advertising push for Hispanic voters centers around "El Sueno Americano" -- or "The American Dream" -- (subscription), a TV spot in which the Democratic candidate speaks directly to viewers in Spanish. The ad is running in battleground states Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and Virginia.

"We share a dream," Obama says, going on to detail what the American dream means to him: reward for hard work, quality health care and educational opportunity. Obama makes a direct appeal to voters: "I ask for your vote -- not just for me and the Democrats, but to keep this dream alive for you and your children."

Continue reading "Hispanic Vote Targeted In Obama's Final Push" »

Capitalizing on a report in the Israeli press today suggesting that French President Nicholas Sarkozy thinks Barack Obama's stance on Iran is "utterly immature," John McCain is re-releasing an ad that highlights comments the Democrat made in May -- calling the country "tiny" (compared to the former Soviet Union) -- to argue that he is "dangerously unprepared" for the presidency.

For the cash-strapped McCain camp, the re-release of this ad is a cost-effective means of political recycling; jumping on the news peg of Sarkozy's comments (per an anonymous Israeli government source), the campaign can convey a strong message without producing a new ad.

The ad, "Tiny," originally released in "key states" during the Democratic convention, is now running only in "key Florida markets." This is one of the smaller ad buys that the campaign has officially disclosed -- further evidence that McCain is now targeting an ever-smaller list of battleground states he thinks he can win. While Florida was projected to fall into McCain's column earlier in the race, the polling data shows a strong shift toward Obama as of mid- to late September, and he is now besting his GOP opponent in almost all surveys.

NationalJournal.com's Mary Gilbert appeared on MSNBC Live this Saturday to discuss ad spending in this year's presidential race.

Click here to watch "Compare."

John McCain released a new ad this morning, "Compare" (subscription), which adheres to a traditional conservative line of attack -- that the Democratic candidate is a tax-and-spend liberal. With less than a week to go before the big day, this ad by McCain and another by the Republican National Committee attacking Barack Obama on experience suggest the days of ads based on guilt-by-association, gaffes and other more trivial facets of the campaign are gone, as a cash-strapped GOP looks to allocate its funds wisely.

"Compare" juxtaposes various images of the presidential hopefuls with phrases representing their economic plans. The ad references Obama's now-infamous "spread the wealth" comment and Joe Wurzelbacher, as an announcer contrasts the phrase "for workin' Joe's" (and a jovial image of McCain) with "spread your income" (accompanied by a more menacing shot of Obama). The ad concludes with another staple attack on the Democrat: claiming he's a "risky" choice while McCain is a "proven" leader.

"Storm" (subscription), which the RNC released Friday, also returns to a familiar GOP line. The ad likens the financial crisis to a storm, and aims to cast doubt on Obama's ability to lead the nation through "uncertain times." "What if the storm does get worse?" an announcer asks, "with someone who’s untested at the helm?"

No McCain ad has hit Obama this directly on the experience issue in a while, perhaps as a result of the Sarah Palin pick. "Tiny" (subscription), which highlighted comments Obama made over Iran to suggest he is "dangerously unprepared" for the presidency, was released in the middle of the Democratic convention and represents the last straightforward "experience" attack ad issued by the McCain camp. But the issue has been revived in RNC ads, beginning with "Chair" (subscription) on Oct. 16.

While returning to staple attacks, the GOP is also retreating into traditionally conservative territories. The RNC has announced it will start running ads Wednesday in Montana -- a state that gave President Bush nearly 60 percent of the vote in 2004 but is trending more and more toward Obama. "Storm," however, is reportedly airing in the more mainstay battlegrounds like Pennsylvania and Virginia. A request for comment about which RNC ads will run in Montana was not returned.

Click here to watch "He Never Complained Once."

The impending sense of doom among Republicans with a week to go before Election Day has led some to criticize John McCain's campaign. One thing many conservatives would have liked to see from the Arizona senator was an earlier and more direct hit on Barack Obama for his connection with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Instead, third-party groups like Our Country Deserves Better PAC (subscription) and, now, the National Republican Trust PAC have taken up the issue themselves.

The National Republican Trust PAC, a group responsible for two controversial TV ads about Obama's immigration policies, is now putting $2.5 million behind "He Never Complained Once" (subscription), a spot that dredges up Obama's long-term relationship with Wright. It is currently airing in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

"For 20 years, Barack Obama followed a preacher of hate and said nothing as Wright raged against our country," the announcer charges as video clips of some of Wright's most inflammatory sermons play in the background. "I don't think my church is particularly controversial," reads a quote from Obama on screen. Portraying Obama as an opportunistic politician, the announcer charges that "for 20 years, Obama never complained -- until he ran for president."

The question is whether or not Wright can affect the race at this point, when voters are more focused on economic issues and, according to polls, seem more willing to trust Obama on that topic than McCain.

Click here to listen to "Source Of Hope."

A pro-Barack Obama Christian PAC, the Matthew 25 Network, is expanding its advertising into new battleground states, hoping to boost the Illinois senator among a group of voters who have traditionally gone Republican, but whom John McCain seems to be having trouble securing -- evangelicals. The PAC, which has already run ads in Ohio, is now running a pair of new radio spots in Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.

"Source Of Hope" (subscription) features an audio clip from a 2007 Obama speech in which he discusses the origins of his faith. "Kneeling beneath that cross, I felt that I heard God’s spirit beckoning me," Obama says of his own spiritual experience. "I submitted myself to his will, and dedicated myself to discovering his truth." He goes on to discuss why he believes people should "embrace Christ" and how he came to see faith "as more than just a comfort to the weary, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world -- as a source of hope."

"Welcome" (subscription), meanwhile, features Douglas Kmiec, former legal counsel to Ronald Reagan, explaining to listeners how they can reconcile supporting Obama with being pro-life. "There's more to building a culture of life than just hoping the next Supreme Court justice deals with Roe v. Wade," Kmiec says. He argues that Obama's "bottom-up, faith-based approach" to dealing with maternity leave, health care for children and adoption will decrease the number of abortions in the U.S. "John McCain says he’s pro-life, but he has voted against health care for poor children and support for pregnant women," Kmiec asserts, concluding: "Let’s elect a president who will protect life today: Barack Obama."

Matthew 25 is highlighting a survey from the Barna Group, a Christian polling firm, that shows Obama making huge inroads with Christian voters -- particularly born-agains and young evangelicals -- compared with John Kerry's performance against George Bush in 2004.

Click here to watch "Defining Moment."

Barack Obama is set to deliver a "closing argument" speech in the battleground state of Ohio today, but viewers are already getting a preview of the candidates' final pitch through a pair of TV ads released within the last 48 hours.

In "Defining Moment" (subscription), a two-minute spot launched in key states over the weekend, Obama speaks directly to viewers about how he will fix the economy and help working-class Americans. "The real question" for voters, Obama says, "is: Will our country be better off four years from now? How will we lift our economy and restore America's place in the world?" Obama goes on to outline his "rescue plan for the middle class," giving tax cuts to anyone making under $200,000 and granting loans and tax cuts to companies that create jobs at home. Once the immediate crisis has been addressed, Obama says, he'll be able to "focus on our urgent national priorities" like health care, energy and education.

Attempting to address the criticism that his agenda will prove too costly, Obama goes on to explain how he will pay for these initiatives: ending the war in Iraq, letting the "temporary Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent expire" and conducting a thorough audit of government spending. The Democratic candidate ends on a note of optimism, ensuring viewers that "if we stand together, we can meet our challenges and ensure that there are better days ahead."

Obama also released a more combative ad this morning that matches almost precisely a spot (subscription) he ran earlier in October. "New Subject" (subscription) portrays John McCain as desperate and accuses him of using " scare tactics and smears" to "try to tear Barack Obama down."

This combination of positive and negative ads matches a recent trend from the Obama campaign, which, with its campaign coffers overflowing, has had the luxury of running a two-front ad war -- portraying a positive message of change while not hesitating to criticize McCain.

Click here to watch "How Much Time."

Two women's rights groups -- Winning Message Action Fund and Planned Parenthood -- are taking aim at John McCain 's positions on abortion and health care in a set of new ads.

In "How Much Time" (subscription), Winning Message Action Fund (the advocacy arm of the National Institute For Reproductive Health) demands that both McCain and Sarah Palin -- avid pro-lifers -- elaborate more on the repercussions for women that could ensue if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The spot starts running Saturday in Ohio and Wisconsin during shows that are popular with women, including "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "The Early Show." Images of distraught women posing for mug shots flash across the screen one after another, with an announcer speculating that, under a GOP administration, women could end up in jail if they have an abortion.

Continue reading "Women's Groups Reproach GOP Ticket On Abortion, Health Care" »

Click here to watch "Try This."

After several weeks of back-and-forth between John McCain and Barack Obama over their respective philosophies on taxes, the Illinois senator is encouraging voters to find out for themselves which candidate's tax plan would benefit them more.

In a new TV ad, "Try This" (subscription), Obama directs viewers to TaxCutFacts.org, where they can plug in their income, marital status and number of dependents and calculate how much they would save with each candidate. "The independent Tax Policy Center says Obama offers middle-class tax cuts three times as big as McCain’s," the announcer says, adding that "1.5 million have tried it. You should too."

Click here to watch "Chicken Button."

Barack Obama's decision to forgo public financing has left him with a huge money advantage over John McCain -- and the Republican Party as a whole. Let Freedom Ring, a conservative 501(c)(4) organization, is trying to make up some of the difference by pouring $5 million into a battleground state advertising blitz.

The group is running about 20 ads, primarily in five states -- Colorado, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia -- with some presence on national cable stations as well. The ads portray Obama as a radical liberal who would take the country in the wrong direction on everything from the economy to national security to judicial appointments.

One new spot (subscription) picks up on a gaffe from Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, who at a fundraiser last weekend predicted that a President Obama would face "an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy." A clip of Biden's warning is juxtaposed with a statement by former Defense Department official and conservative commentator Frank Gaffney, who says that when a candidate "convey[s] a determination neither to use military power, nor to ensure that they have it at their disposal should it be necessary, they are conveying to our enemies weakness, and weakness invites aggression" -- implying that Obama's support for diplomacy emboldens America's enemies.

Continue reading "Third Party Makes Swing-State Anti-Obama Pitch" »

Click here to listen to "Hank Williams Jr."

John McCain is receiving on-air endorsements from Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) and country music singer Hank Williams Jr. in two radio ads the campaign recently released with the Republican National Committee.

Both men take jabs at Barack Obama for controversial comments he's made -- recent and not-so-recent. In "Spread The Wealth" (subscription), Crist references what Obama said on Oct. 12 to Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher of Ohio explaining why he wanted to raise taxes for Americans earning higher incomes. "John McCain knows that people don't want to 'spread the wealth,'" Crist tells his Florida constituents. "He knows that Congress should let you keep more of your money, and not take it away."

Another infamous comment -- uttered by the Democrat at a private fundraiser in April -- where he said some rural Pennsylvania voters were "bitter" and "cling to guns or religion," is the focus of "Hank Williams Jr." (subscription). Williams tells listeners the comment proves that Obama "just doesn't understand small-town America." Aiming to pit rural voters against the Democrat, he continues: "We love our God. And we love our guns, especially handed down from our grandfathers. And we resent it when liberals like Obama question our way of life." He concludes by urging voters, "Don't be bitter. Vote McCain."

Williams has been an avid McCain supporter for a while now, even devoting a song to the GOP ticket.

Since both 60-second spots are co-sponsored by the RNC, Crist and Williams occupy just half of the running time in each. By law, these ads must devote at least half of their time to a more general focus. The latter part of both spots give way to attacking "congressional liberals" for their tax-and-spend policies and being "out of touch" with America.

With McCain short on cash, pairing up with the RNC on the radio is a cost-effective measure, but ending on such a generalized tone in each spot may tend to blunt the more pointed attacks made at the beginning. McCain and the RNC did recently discontinue their joint TV ads.

Click here to listen to "Warner."

Barack Obama is getting a little help from popular local surrogates in Indiana and Virginia, two states that went for President Bush in 2004 but where Obama is giving John McCain a run for his money this year.

In the Hoosier State, singer and native son John Mellencamp is featured in a new radio ad focusing on the economy. "I’m seeing small towns across America dying," he laments. Mellencamp describes how Bush's policies "have really hurt" and insists that McCain would continue down the same road. But "Barack Obama gets it," he declares, praising Obama's tax plan and support for "a strong American labor force."

Meanwhile, Virginia Senate candidate and former governor Mark Warner also vouches for Obama in a new radio spot (subscription). "Getting this economy back on track" will require bipartisan cooperation at all levels, he says. "Barack knows that your children shouldn't have to leave their hometown to find a world-class job," and has a plan to fix the economy and improve education and job opportunities, he tells listeners. Finally, he lauds the Illinois senator for his personality and character: "His steady hand, family values and common-sense approach will help get our country back on track."

Click here to watch "Ladies And Gentlemen."

Once again, a gaffe by Joe Biden has provided ad fodder for the GOP ticket. Biden's comment last weekend that if elected, Barack Obama will be "tested" by an international crisis soon after taking office is the inspiration for an aggressive TV spot released this morning by John McCain.

Over audio of Biden's comments, "Ladies And Gentlemen" (subscription) airs pictures of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, along with marching Hamas soldiers. The style of the ad -- complete with music reminiscent of a classic horror film and blurry, black-and-white images -- aims to stoke fears that a President Obama would not have the experience needed to lead a country through an international crisis. Following up on Biden's statement that "we're going to have an international crisis ... to test the mettle of this guy. I guarantee you it's gonna happen," an announcer responds: "It doesn't have to happen. Vote McCain."

A couple of days after Biden made his comments, Obama sought to clarify what his running mate was presumably trying to say. "I think that his core point was that the next administration is going to be tested regardless of who it is," Obama said. Appearing to back up the Democrat's clarification, MSNBC's First Read cites examples of recent global crises early in a president's first term, including the violence in Somalia under Bill Clinton and the 9/11 attacks under President Bush.

All ad summary pages are available to subscribers only.

Idaho Senate (tip sheet)

• Democrat Larry LaRocco criticizes Republican Jim Risch for supporting privatization of Social Security in "Divert."

Louisiana Senate (tip sheet)

• The National Republican Senatorial Committee alleges that incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu received campaign donations from clients of disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff the "Same Day" she did them political favors.

• Gov. Bobby Jindal gives fellow Republican John Kennedy the "Governor's Endorsement."

Maine Senate (tip sheet)

• In "Too Close," Democratic Rep. Tom Allen reassures Maine voters that together they can change the direction of the country away from the policies of President Bush.

Mississippi Senate (tip sheet)

• GOP Incumbent Roger Wicker and his wife, Gayle, discuss the "Mississippi Values" they share with voters.

• The NRSC criticizes Democratic challenger Ronnie Musgrove for saying that a bad economy will help him win in "Help."

• Musgrove defends his record on abortion, guns and gay marriage in "Musgrove Sets The Record Straight."

• And in "Lots Of Times," the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee slams Wicker for voting to raise his own pay while voting against increases to the minimum wage and other programs.

Continue reading "The Week In Political Ads" »

Click here to watch "Oportunidad."

When Barack Obama captured the Democratic nomination early this summer, many Democratic insiders feared he would not be able to win over Hispanic voters, who overwhelmingly favored his opponent, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in the primaries. Less than two weeks out from Election Day, however, Obama is posting a solid lead over Republican John McCain among this voting bloc.

Despite what many saw as McCain's potential appeal with Latinos, the Arizona senator is garnering less than 30 percent of the Hispanic vote, according to Gallup, far fewer than the 44 percent President Bush captured in 2004. And this could pose a significant problem for McCain in several battleground states.

Obama, meanwhile, is using his cash advantage to reach out to Hispanic voters in many key states with a new radio and TV ad. "Oportunidad" (subscription), a TV spot running in Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico, presents Obama's plan to give a $4,000 college tuition credit to students who participate in community service activities. It also claims that Obama will offer "scholarships to recruit more teachers to make sure our children are prepared."

An aggressive radio spot, "Ataques" (subscription), or "Attack," accuses McCain and the Republicans of telling "terrible lies." Discussing the hardships his friends and neighbors are facing, one speaker tells another: "Enough with the attacks. We are in an economic crisis, and I want to know what the candidates will do for us." The two then praise Obama's economic policies, with the woman touting his tax plan as the man adds: "What matters to me is that Obama has a plan to give health insurance to all. My neighbor will be saved!"

The 60-second spot is running in Colorado, Central Florida, Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, with a slightly different version running in South Florida.

Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar also vouches for Obama in a bilingual radio ad (subscription) that encourages listeners to take advantage of the state's early voting system. Salazar talks about his working-class background and says that Colorado residents share a devotion to family. "You can do something for your family right now: Vote. You don’t have to wait until Election Day," he tells the audience. "With Barack Obama and the Democrats, real change is within our grasp," Salazar declares, hitting on some of Obama's talking points on health care and the economy. "We can’t afford more of the same," he concludes.

John McCain's camp and the Republican National Committee have decided to discontinue all co-sponsored TV ads, Advertising Age reported this morning.

This gives McCain more "creative control" over his message, since the joint spots were required by law to divide their focus. That explains the disconnect in many of them, deriding Barack Obama for the first 12.5 seconds and then abruptly switching to a general attack on "congressional liberals."

This also will mean fewer ads overall touting the Arizona senator, whose fundraising lags behind his opponent's by enormous amounts. Indeed, the pace at which the campaign has released ads has fallen off. The camp has only released one ad (subscription) so far this week, compared to its one-a-day routine just a few weeks ago.

McCain has seen ample ad support from the RNC since mid-September. Starting Sept. 18, the number of joint spots (eight) almost matched the single-sponsor ads by both the McCain camp (six) and RNC (three). This correlation and timing shouldn't come as a surprise. Obama, opting out of the public finance system, raised a record $150 million in September. McCain, on the other hand, has been constrained to the $84 million of public money since the first part of September, when those public funds kicked in.

CORRECTION: The original version of this post incorrectly stated what co-sponsored ads will be dropped. McCain and the RNC will continue to produce joint radio spots.

Click here to watch "Fight John McCain's Health Care Plan."

Standing amid smoking rubble, several firefighters vow to "fight" John McCain's health care proposals in a new ad (subscription) released in six battleground states Tuesday by the International Association of Fire Fighters.

"Our job is to risk our lives to protect you and your loved ones. We're proud of that," one firefighter says. "And like you, we need our health care for our families," another says. The men express concern that McCain's plan would replace the existing tax exemption for employer-sponsored health coverage with a refundable tax credit for individuals. "Pay more taxes or lose coverage?" the firefighters ask incredulously. "No thanks!"

The 30-second spot, backed by $500,000, is running in Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Missouri, New Hampshire and North Carolina. Similar ads that link GOP incumbent Sens. Elizabeth Dole (North Carolina) and John Sununu (New Hampshire) to McCain will run in those two states as well.

"Voters need to know that John McCain's unprecedented plan to tax health care is one of the most unenlightened ideas ever cooked up in Washington," IAFF President Harold A. Schaitberger said in a press release.

"Barack Obama and his supporters should get the facts straight before waging inaccurate attacks against John McCain’s health care proposals," retorted Republican National Committee spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson in an e-mail. "Unlike Obama, John McCain will not punish struggling businesses with increased fines and higher taxes."

The IAFF is certainly not hiding its allegiances in this election; the ad concludes with a bright yellow screen and large text reading: "Fire Fighters For Obama Biden."

Vets for Freedom, a conservative-leaning organization of combat veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, has expanded the ad buy for its TV spot "Skipped" (subscription), putting it on the airwaves in Colorado and Ohio this week. The ad criticizes Barack Obama for holding no oversight hearings on Afghanistan and not spending more time in Iraq.

One of the targeted states -- Colorado -- is among the five that John McCain's campaign is reportedly pulling back from this week. The Politico reported today that the chances of a third-party, Swift-Boat-style attack on Obama are dimming. But there does seem to be a pattern developing of outside groups stepping into battleground states as McCain steps out.

Click here to watch "Obama's Patriotism Problem."

Our Country Deserves Better PAC, a conservative third-party group that released one of the more controversial ads against Barack Obama this cycle, is focusing its fire on Michigan, a state that Pollster.com places safely in the blue column less than two weeks out from Election Day.

PAC coordinator Joe Wierzbicki explained that the John McCain camp's decision to pull resources from the Wolverine State made it that much more important for his group to pour its resources in. "We think the people of Michigan will appreciate that their votes and their issues are going to be discussed and debated and fought for," he said, noting that the Obama campaign has also drawn down some of its resources in the state.

Wierzbicki said he was pleased with the results of the group's campaign in Nevada, where he credits its advertising and "Stop Obama" rallies with tightening the race (though Pollster.com shows Obama moving slightly ahead of McCain in October). The group is spending $500,000 in Michigan to run its previous ad featuring Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers, as well as several new ones.

In "Obama's Patriotism Problem" (subscription), Our Country Deserves Better Chairman Howard Kaloogian speaks to viewers, using several anecdotes to call the Illinois senator's love of country into question. Evoking Ronald Reagan's vision of America as a "shining city on a hill," Kaloogian charges: "When it comes to this presidential campaign, it's clear that Barack Obama is no Ronald Reagan." The spot criticizes Wright's sermons, Obama's refusal to wear an American flag pin, and his campaign's decision to replace the American flag on its airplane with a campaign logo. "If America is not good enough for Barack Obama," Kaloogian says, "then surely Barack Obama is not good enough for America."

Two other ads link Obama to Michigan Democrats, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and "disgraced" former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. "Obama/Granholm: Wrong For Michigan" assails Granholm, whose approval rating is in the 20s, and says that an Obama presidency would mean more of the "same tax-raising, big-government-spending, liberal policies." Meanwhile, this spot reminds viewers of Obama's "political alliance" with Kilpatrick, who resigned in September as part of a plea bargain as he faced perjury and other criminal charges.

Continue reading "Conservative PAC Picks Up Slack In Michigan" »

Click here to watch "Sweat Equity."

The third presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama had an unexpected winner: Joe Wurzelbacher. "Joe the Plumber" unwittingly drew the media spotlight when he was captured on video having a frank exchange with Obama about taxes a few days before the debate. He has since come to embody the type of voter that the McCain campaign is trying to lure in the final weeks of the campaign -- the "real," hardworking "Average Joe."

Wurzelbacher, whose given first name is Samuel, is not licensed as a plumber, but he hopes to purchase a plumbing company that makes over $250,000 per year. He caught McCain's eye because, under Obama's tax plan, individuals who make over $250,000 would face a tax increase. Thus the McCain campaign has been pushing him as someone whose hard work would be punished, rather than rewarded, under an Obama administration.

McCain launched a new ad (subscription) this morning featuring small-business owners from across the country proclaiming: "I'm Joe the Plumber." It opens with footage of Obama talking to Wurzelbacher on the trail, telling him: "I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." One man in McCain's ad asks incredulously, "Obama wants my sweat to pay for his trillion dollars in new spending?" The announcer charges, "Barack Obama: higher taxes, more spending, not ready."

The Obama campaign, meanwhile, is running a tongue-in-cheek Web video that stars Ed O'Neill of "Married With Children" fame as "Al the Shoesalesman." Al, who is married with two children, makes $20,000 a year. Visiting taxcut.BarackObama.com, he enters his information into the tax calculator and finds that he would receive a $1,000 tax cut under Obama's plan, while under McCain's he would save nothing. "This is going to be tough," Al says sarcastically, before exclaiming, "Obama!"

Meanwhile, as Obama looks for ways to burn through his massive store of campaign funds, the New York Times reports that the McCain campaign is cutting back its advertising efforts in five states -- Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin -- perhaps to concentrate resources in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Click here to watch "Palin And Polar Bears."

Get ready, Tina Fey.

The Defenders of Wildlife -- the group that made Sarah Palin's support of aerial shooting of wolves infamous -- is working on a follow-up. This time the target is Palin's lawsuit against the labeling of polar bears as an endangered species. Defenders has begun running a television ad in Indiana financed by the group's nonprofit 527 arm while it also looks to raise money online to finance a separate political ad. The 30-second issue ad asks Indiana viewers to call on Palin to withdraw her lawsuit.

It is being run in Indiana "to keep us out of trouble" since it is a swing state where Defenders did not run the political ad targeting her support of wolf shooting, said the group's president and CEO Rodger Schlickeisen. That 60-second ad featured footage of a hunter leaning out the window of helicopter with rifle in hand, shooting and mortally wounding a wolf. Schlickeisen admitted the polar bear ad may not have the same visual impact, but he still hopes to replicate the wolf ad's modest initial $35,000 investment that turned into nearly $1 million in donations. That money went to expanding the group's media buy, allowing the wolf ad to run in several swing states, including Virginia, Colorado, Florida and Ohio.

--CongressDaily

What would you do with $150 million? That's the situation Barack Obama has found himself in after raising a record amount of money in September, and he's coming up with some clever ways to reach voters. Everything from his 30-minute prime-time ad buy slated for Oct. 29 to his unprecedented outreach to video gamers has put the senator in a league of his own.

What other uncharted territory could be tapped as avenues for political advertising? NationalJournal.com staffers asked this question to various political ad experts, tech and online-savvy consultants for speculation. Contributors include Tihan Presbie, co-founder of Miniclip.com; Sabrina L. Sutherland, marketing coordinator of RealNetworks; Paul Freedman, University of Virginia professor and political advertising expert; Jeanne Jennings, founder of e-mail marketing firm JeanneJennings.com; Lee Gibbons, co-founder and CEO of Podango; John Geer, Vanderbilt professor and political ad expert; Daljit Bhurji, managing director of London-based Diffusion, a social media communications agency; and Thomas Gensemer, managing partner of Blue State Digital, which created Obama's social networking site "MyBO."

Here is a rundown of some ad-venturous ways to reach voters -- not to mention burn cash:

Continue reading "The Sky's The Limit For Tech-Savvy Advertising" »

Click here to watch "Are You Truly Catholic?" No. 1 and No. 2.

Faithful Catholic Citizens is running TV spots in Colorado and Iowa attacking Barack Obama and other Democrats for their support of abortion rights, pouring over $35,000 into two battleground states that polls show may turn blue this year.

With economic turmoil keeping traditional wedge issues like abortion and gay marriage on the campaign back burner, co-founder Tony Likins said his group wanted to redirect the national conversation back to its bread-and-butter issues.

"We've gotten a great response," Likins said. "People keep saying, 'Hooray, where have you been?'"

The latest ad, "Moral Crisis Bailout," addresses Catholic lawmakers in Washington.

"A financial bailout plan to address the economic crisis has been passed, and we pray that it works," the narrator says. "Now we ask you to address the moral crisis in our nation."

Two other (subscription) ads -- both titled "Are You Truly Catholic?" -- hammer Obama for saying that the question of when life begins was "above my pay grade" at Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum on the presidency in August.

"Abortion is intrinsically evil," says the group's co-founder, Heidi Stirrup, in the ad. "It's a non-negotiable issue for Catholics."

If recent polls from Colorado and Iowa are any indication, Faithful Catholic Citizens has a lot of ground to make up. Obama leads John McCain by 5 percentage points in Colorado, according to a FOX News/Rasmussen poll released Monday. A SurveyUSA poll released Oct. 11 showed the Illinois senator with a 13-point lead in Iowa.

The internal numbers also show Obama making inroads with Catholics and abortion opponents. In Iowa, the SurveyUSA poll shows McCain garnering the support of 62 percent of anti-abortion voters, compared to the Democrat's 33 percent. McCain is beating Obama among white Catholics in Colorado 52-41 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Oct. 14.

Continue reading "Catholic Group Slams Obama On Abortion" »

Click here to watch "Concerned About Obama?"

The Republican Jewish Coalition is voicing a favorite GOP criticism of Barack Obama in a new TV ad: that his inexperience makes him a dangerous choice for commander in chief. "Concerned About Obama?" (subscription) uses footage from a Democratic primary debate and criticism of Obama from Hillary Rodham Clinton to call his foreign policy credentials into question and suggest to voters that the country will be less safe with a President Obama than it would be with a President John McCain.

The ad opens with audio of a July 2007 debate in which Democratic candidates were asked whether or not they would "be willing to meet separately with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea." "I would," replies Obama. Clinton disagrees, saying "I don't want to be used for propaganda purposes." The spot also features audio of a Quad-City Times interview with Clinton several days later, in which she charges that Obama's position is "irresponsible and frankly naïve." "Hillary is right," an announcer maintains. "The stakes are too high," he says as photos of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez and other anti-American leaders flash on screen.

The issue of national security is likely to play well with the segment of Jewish voters who place the safety of Israel among their highest priorities. And there has been evidence that Obama is having more trouble than most Democrats in winning over this typically reliable left-leaning bloc. But one recent New York University poll showed Jewish voters as a whole backing Obama by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 (the poll was actually conducted in September, before the economic situation deteriorated and large numbers of voters nationwide began moving toward Obama).

The RJC is spending over $1 million to run the ad in Florida, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Of these states, Florida is perhaps the one battleground where Jewish voters could prove a decisive demographic, as they make up about 6 to 8 percent of the voting population. Both presidential campaigns have spent a great deal of time and effort trying to win over Jewish voters, particularly in South Florida, where Obama is making a final pitch as early voting begins this week.

Click here to watch "Security."

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees released two new ads late last week deriding John McCain on veterans legislation and Social Security. The ads feature real veterans and seniors expressing concerns about the senator.

"Security" (subscription), released Thursday, shows seniors worrying that McCain wants to privatize Social Security and effectively put their money "into Wall Street's hands," as one senior puts it. Another asks: "What is he thinking? I'm surprised he's that out of touch" -- an especially critical statement considering these people are in the 72-year-old McCain's peer group.

AFSCME's "Veterans" (subscription), launched Friday, tackles McCain's voting record on veterans legislation, most notably his opposition to the recent GI bill. In the ad, veterans hit the senator on two fundamentals of his campaign message: distinguishing himself from President Bush and touting his maverick, reformer reputation. "John McCain sided with George Bush and opposed the new GI Bill," one veteran says, while another laments that "when John McCain has to choose between his party and better care for veterans, he sides with his party."

The $3 million ad buy covers states the group believes will be pivotal come Nov. 4, according to Ricky Feller, associate director of the political action arm of AFSCME. The Social Security spot is running in Wisconsin, where Obama leads, but AFSCME wants to "make sure it remains blue," Feller said. It's also a state that has a large senior population, he added. The veterans ad is running in another state where Obama currently leads, New Mexico, which Feller said is "part of a whole evolving new West" where demographic changes favor Democrats.

Click here to watch "Trigger-Happy."

It certainly isn't your typical talking head. But, it is still a talking head -- of a moose, that is -- who has some disparaging things to say about Sarah Palin in an ad unveiled today by MoveOn.org.

"Trigger Happy" (subscription) lampoons Palin's well-known love for hunting, featuring an animated moose's head, mounted on a wall, scoffing, "You really gotta question John McCain's judgment picking Sarah Palin as his VP." Charging that the Alaska governor "doesn't have any national security experience," the moose says, "She can't even explain [President] Bush's war policies, but she supports his war" -- a reference to her interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson, in which she was asked about the Bush Doctrine. The moose is also not impressed with another Palin talking point: "And now she's an expert because she can see Russia?"

Continue reading "Palin Not Qualified For VP, Says MoveOn Moose" »

Click here to watch "It Gets Worse."

Fresh from raising a record $150 million in September, Barack Obama hit the airwaves Friday with his latest salvo against John McCain's health care policy.

"First we learned he's going to tax health care benefits to pay for part of it," the narrator says in "It Gets Worse" (subscription). "Now the Wall Street Journal reports John McCain would pay for the rest of his health care plan 'with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid.'"

The McCain campaign has vigorously denied the TV spot's contention that the Arizona senator would cut seniors' benefits, and the New York Times questioned some of the ad's claims, suggesting they're based on "assumptions that are stitched together from news reporting and rough back-of-the-envelope calculations by a partisan policy group," the left-leaning Center for American Progress.

Obama also released a radio spot in Florida Thursday accusing McCain of wanting to cut NASA funding, an argument that turns on McCain's proposal to enact a spending freeze to close the budget deficit.

McCain "wants to freeze NASA spending at last year's level," says Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in the ad. "So layoffs would loom larger, and NASA would continue to be starved of funds for future exploration."

For his part, McCain visited the state Friday and promised $2 billion in additional funding for the space agency, arguing that Obama is the one who would cut NASA's budget. The Democrat once proposed delaying the Constellation program, which would return humans to the moon, to pay for his education plan.

Click here to watch "License."

It's less than three weeks before Election Day and the economy continues to dominate headlines, propelling Barack Obama's gain over John McCain in the polls. What's a conservative group to do? One PAC is turning to perhaps the only topic that could tear both voters and the media away from the financial crisis: the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

The National Republican Trust PAC started running an ad, "License" (subscription), in Ohio on Thursday that uses images of a burning World Trade Center and hijacking mastermind Mohammad Atta. The spot notes that many of the 9/11 hijackers were able to obtain driver's licenses and claims that Obama's support for allowing states to issue licenses to illegal immigrants would endanger the nation's security.

"Nineteen terrorists infiltrate the U.S." the ad's announcer says. "Thirteen get drivers licenses. The 9/11 plot depended on easy-to-get licenses." Images of Obama and of the smoke- and fire-filled towers follow one of Atta's face on a Florida driver's license while the announcer asserts, falsely, that "Obama's plan gives a license to any illegal who wants one." The ad goes on to tie its central claim about national security to hot-button issues such as the housing crisis and voter fraud, warning that illegal immigrants with licenses could "get government benefits, a mortgage, board a plane, even illegally vote."

The issue of whether or not to grant licenses to illegal immigrants -- and, for that matter, the subject of immigration in general -- has hardly come up during the general election. It played a far larger role during the primaries, when Republican candidates accused each other of favoring "amnesty" and Democrats sparred over the licensing issue.

While the amount of the ad buy has not officially been confirmed, the Politico dug up FEC fillings that show the group has spent $200,000 opposing Obama. How much of that is tied up in this ad is unclear. The group also sent out e-mails making the same claims as the ad does, while also alerting supporters of the plans to release the spot. It's reportedly running in Ohio, with potential plans to run it in more states.

All ad summary pages are available to subscribers only.

Louisiana Senate (tip sheet)

• Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) boasts of the "solutions" she has helped legislate for the Pelican State -- bringing defense jobs and voting to keep "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Maine Senate (tip sheet)

• Rep. Tom Allen (D) gets the endorsement of former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell in "Courage."

Mississippi Senate (tip sheet)

• Republican incumbent Roger Wicker's new spot, "Who Is Buying Ronnie Musgrove?" suggests that his Democratic challenger is being influenced by left-wing organizations.

•Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee blames Musgrove for the state's deficit and loss of jobs in "Clip."

New Hampshire Senate (tip sheet)

• The NRSC asserts that former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) won't deliver on her promises to cut spending.

• The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee claims GOP incumbent Sen. John Sununu has "followed" in President Bush's footsteps for the last eight years, helping cause the financial crisis.

North Carolina Senate (tip sheet)

• Democrat Kay Hagan says Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) put tax cuts for Big Oil ahead of "Lowering" taxes for working families.

Oregon Senate (tip sheet)

• "Senior Senator" Ron Wyden (D) encourages Oregonians to support Jeff Merkley.

• And in another spot, Merkley says veterans "deserve better" health care.

• In "More Tax Merkley," the NRSC attacks the Democrat on his tax record.

Virginia Senate (tip sheet)

• In "A Fresh Approach," former Gov. Mark Warner (D) says he will put the country's interests ahead of partisanship in Washington if elected.

North Carolina governor (tip sheet)

• In "Crisis," the Republican Governors Association asserts that Democratic Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's record of raising taxes and hindering job growth makes her ill-equipped to handle North Carolina's economic crisis.

• The Perdue camp slams Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory (R) for a record that "Floating" claims has helped North Carolina become a landfill for places like New York and New Jersey.

Washington governor (tip sheet)

• In "Thousands," Dino Rossi (R) assures voters he has the experience cutting spending that would prepare him to do the same as governor.

• A mother expresses her worries about Democratic incumbent Christine Gregoire's record on protecting children from sex offenders in this attack spot by the RGA.

• Several law enforcement representatives show their support for Gregoire in "Law Enforcement," responding to the RGA's attack spot.

Click here to watch "Riesgo."

On the heels of the Republican National Committee's announcement that it will focus its ad spending on traditional GOP states where Barack Obama is gaining, like Colorado and Virginia, the RNC and John McCain released a Spanish-language TV spot admonishing Obama and other "congressional liberals" for their tax and health plans, contending that they will hurt small businesses. The TV spot is accompanied by a radio ad with the same transcript.

"Riesgo" (subscription) is running in Colorado, as well as the Hispanic battlegrounds of Florida, Nevada and New Mexico. The ad shows particular concern for small-business owners: "If you own a small business or work for one, you know that more taxes means less jobs, less money in our pockets and less opportunities," the announcer says. "Who's going to hire with so many taxes! Obama and congressional liberals: Too risky for jobs and small business."

Click here to watch "Fence."

Updated Friday, Oct. 16, 2008.

The Republican Party's national committees are pulling ads in key presidential battleground states and in a hotly contested Senate race, in just the latest sign of the GOP's sinking electoral fortunes.

The Republican National Senatorial Committee is pulling its ads from the Louisiana Senate race, where state Treasurer John Kennedy's challenge to two-term Sen. Mary Landrieu is considered the GOP's best shot to unseat an incumbent Democrat.

NRSC communications director Rebecca Fisher declined to discuss the timing of the pullout. But Leonardo Alcivar, the Kennedy campaign's communications director, was blunt in his assessment of the Republican committee's decision to withdraw.

"They need to help fund incumbents who two weeks ago were not vulnerable and now are," he said. "It’s a reflection of the national political landscape and not the local political landscape."

Alcivar added that his campaign has already benefited from the NRSC's support, and that Kennedy has the resources to compete with and win against Landrieu in the home stretch.

The most recent poll in that race, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Sept. 27, showed Landrieu with a commanding 54-41 lead over the Republican challenger.

Hannah August, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said the Republican committee's retreat reaffirmed the DSCC's confidence heading toward Election Day.

"They essentially gave up their only alleged seat to pick up," she said. "I think they've realized that Mary Landrieu is in a strong position to win re-election. We've been saying it all along."

Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee will stop running presidential ads in Maine and Wisconsin, AP reported Wednesday. The move comes as John McCain's poll numbers continue to slide in the Upper Midwest: Barack Obama leads the Arizona senator by 17 percentage points in Wisconsin, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday. The committee's withdrawal from Wisconsin comes on the heels of McCain's decision to essentially concede defeat in Michigan two weeks ago.

Maine is one of two states that awards its electoral votes along congressional district lines, and McCain hopes to pick off a vote in the relatively conservative 2nd District. Despite the committee's move, the McCain campaign isn't writing the Pine Tree State off yet: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin rallied supporters in Bangor this morning and hinted at her campaign's desire to nab one of the state's electoral votes.

UPDATE: The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder reports that the NRSC is also planning to pull its ad dollars from the Colorado Senate race by next week. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., is leading Republican Bob Shaffer 54-40 in an Quinnipiac University poll released Oct. 14.

Click here to watch "90 Percent."

Wednesday night's final presidential debate featured fighting words from John McCain, though Barack Obama appeared unfazed by his opponent's persistent onslaught. But the Arizona senator did score the line of the evening, when he looked Obama in the eyes and told him: "Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago."

Both camps released ads this morning that either directly or indirectly reference the debate and Bush. The Obama campaign's "90 percent" (subscription) features a clip of McCain's one-liner in the debate, to which an announcer responds: "True, but you did vote with Bush 90 percent of the time."

Obama acknowledged at the Hofstra University forum that McCain has broken with the Bush administration on some policies -- environmentalism and torture, for example -- but insisted that on the one topic that is most important to the American people -- the economy -- McCain represents more of the same; this is the point that the TV spot reiterates. "Tax breaks for big corporations and the wealthy, but almost nothing for the middle class -- same as Bush," an announcer says. The announcer also ties McCain to the Bush administration's Iraq policies, claiming the Arizona senator will continue spending "$10 billion a month in Iraq while our own economy struggles." Finally, the ad uses McCain's own words against him, as it closes with footage of the Republican senator boasting: "I voted with the president over 90 percent of the time -- higher than a lot of my even Republican colleagues."

But in McCain's "Fight" (subscription), the Republican nominee speaks directly to viewers about how he plans to take the economy in a different direction than the Bush administration. "The last eight years haven't worked very well, have they?" McCain begins in the 60-second spot. "Your savings, your job and your financial security are under siege," he continues. "Washington is making it worse -- bankrupting us with their spending."

McCain's next statements imply, however, that by "Washington," he actually means Obama and Joe Biden. "Telling us paying higher taxes is 'patriotic'?" McCain says incredulously, referring to comments Biden made on "Good Morning America" in September.

The GOP nominee also continues to reference Joe Wurzelbacher of Ohio -- more famously known now as "Joe the Plumber" -- who saw the spotlight shined on him quite a bit during the debate. Alluding to Obama's exchange with Wurzelbacher on Sunday in which he explained why he wanted to raise taxes for Americans earning higher incomes, McCain chides Obama for "saying we need to 'spread the wealth around.'"

The rest of the spot turns to a positive note, with McCain underscoring how his recently announced "Pension and Family Security Plan," along with his "Jobs For America" economic plan, will help revive the economy, create more jobs and lessen dependence on foreign oil.

McCain got some help from the independent expenditure arm of the Republican National Committee this morning, as well. The RNC launched a new ad, "Chair" (subscription), which questions whether Obama has the necessary experience to lead the country through a financial "meltdown." "This crisis would be Obama's first crisis in this chair," the announcer says, as the camera pans around the Oval Office.

The subject of "executive experience" was a GOP favorite earlier in the campaign, but had played less of a role in the Republican advertising strategy in recent weeks.

-- Amy Harder contributed reporting to this post.

Click here to watch "Hosed."

For some candidates and special interest groups, the $700 billion bailout package is the gift that keeps on giving.

Congress passed the legislation two weeks ago, but the bailout continues to be a hot topic in campaign advertisements, both for special interest groups hoping to influence the presidential race and for downballot candidates. The bailout debate was unpredictable: Votes did not split neatly along party lines, and accusations continue to fly over who's to blame for the subprime disaster. It is perhaps fitting, then, that the recent slew of bailout-related ads range from the conventional -- an attack on Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd's "sweetheart mortgage" -- to the more creative -- a giant banker appearing to urinate on tiny voters.

Former Rep. Jim Slattery has rolled out two spirited ads in his uphill effort to unseat Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas. Roberts voted against the bailout bill, but that hasn't stopped Slattery from trying to link the mortgage crisis to his opponent. Last week, the Democrat released the TV spot "Hosed," which features a giant "rich executive" standing over angry, Lilliputian protesters.

"While they're getting bailouts or gushing record profits, the rest of us are just getting hosed," the narrator says. All of a sudden, a stream of yellow liquid begins pouring down on the tiny people as the giant executive laughs. More fluid rains down before a wider shot reveals that the executive is pouring gasoline on the crowd, and not, well, anything else.

Continue reading "Bailout Still Ad Fodder For Candidates, Interest Groups" »

Click here to watch "Unethical."

In what is becoming a pattern, John McCain has released a TV spot without announcing it to the media. The campaign's latest ad, "Unethical" (subscription), which the Politico's Ben Smith posted about this morning, hasn't officially been released to the press yet. But, according to advertising analyst Evan Tracey, it started running in Omaha, Neb., Tuesday night.

This is quite a change from what the McCain camp has done in the past -- inundate the media with press releases about both TV and online ads, without too much focus on where, if at all, the ads would run. "Unethical" is the second spot in the past week leaked online before the campaign sent out an official release on it. The other was "Hypo" (subscription), which was circulating online for nearly a day before the camp sent anything out about it.

So, what do these two ads have in common? They're both critical of Barack Obama, but then again, so are all of the ads coming from both McCain and the Republican National Committee these days. "Unethical," which is co-sponsored by the RNC, continues to hammer Obama for his Chicago connections, just as the joint spot "Ambition" (subscription) and the RNC's "Chicago Way" (subscription) did last week.

McCain may be trying to reach voters without the press criticizing him for his campaign's negative tone. Maybe he is following the example of the Obama camp, which has never regularly released ads per press releases. In any case, the campaign has clearly revised its ad strategy, with hopes that the tide will turn between now and Nov. 4.

Click here to watch "Obama's Wrong Values."

Our Country Deserves Better, a PAC chaired by California Republican Howard Kaloogian, is running a new TV ad against Barack Obama that revives several of the fiercest character attacks made against the Illinois senator since the beginning of the campaign season.

"Obama's Wrong Values" (subscription) opens with footage of a few of the Democratic Party's primary candidates lined up on a stage, apparently during the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance; Obama is the only one not holding his hand over his heart. "Barack Obama seems to have different values from most Americans," an announcer says. He goes on to charge that Obama campaign offices have flags of "murderous leftist Che Guevara" hung on the walls and that a top official from "the terrorist group Hamas endorsed" Obama. And finally, the ad shows the now-infamous footage of Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, spouting: "... Goddamn America."

Continue reading "PAC Evokes Hamas & Wright In Obama Attack" »

Click here to listen to "Ayers."

After several weeks of intense criticism from the right over his relationship with former 1960's radical William Ayers, Barack Obama is addressing the topic head-on in an ad.

A new radio spot (subscription) running in key states echoes a TV ad released by the campaign last Friday which criticized John McCain for his negative campaigning. But while the TV spot made only a veiled reference to Ayers, the announcer of the radio ad gets into the subject in some detail.

Introducing Ayers as a "professor of education," the announcer explains that he "once served with Obama on a school reform board, a board funded by conservative Republicans with ties to McCain." The spot reiterates a point that Obama camp has made repeatedly: that the Illinois senator was eight years old when Ayers began his radical activities as a member of the Weather Underground. "Ayers has had no role in Obama’s campaign and will have no role in his administration," the announcer says.

McCain opted not to bring Obama's relationship with Ayers up in the second presidential debate, despite the fact that he and running mate Sarah Palin were pounding the message on the campaign trail. The Arizona senator recently hinted in a radio interview, however, that the subject might surface in tonight's final showdown.

Click here to listen to "Courage to Change."

The American Federation of Government Employees hit the airwaves with a one-minute radio advertisement Friday, asking blue-collar voters to ignore race and gender in the presidential election and focus on the issues.

The idea for "Courage to Change" (subscription) came from an August meeting of union leaders in Chicago, explained AFGE National President John Gage, who stars in the ad.

"All of us reported getting stinging e-mails and hearing the code words of racism from some members" after the AFL-CIO endorsed Barack Obama earlier in the year, Gage said. (The AFGE is a member union of the AFL-CIO.) "There was a frank discussion of race at the meeting, and we decided to go after it head-on."

The union has already shelled out $500,000 to run the ad in Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virgina and West Virginia -- with "more to come." While a union representative said the ad's focus on racism and sexism means it could apply to both campaigns, there's little doubt from its opening lines that the radio spot is most concerned with the former.

"I’m old enough to appreciate the union movement’s contributions to civil rights -- and I’m white enough to pick up on the code words of prejudice," Gage says, later adding, "There are 100 good reasons for how you vote this year and only one bad reason."

The ad isn't designed to convince voters to give up racism, Gage told NationalJournal.com, but to make the economic costs of that bias clear.

"Prejudice is not free," he added.

Gage isn't the only one making waves on the race issue this election season. Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, blasted racism during a steelworkers convention in July in a speech that has since been viewed hundreds of thousands of times online.

The AFGE also plans to release an advertisement with television personality Judge Joe Brown closer to Election Day that will encourage listeners to resist voter suppression efforts at the polls, Gage said.

Click here to watch "Talk To Your Parents."

It's not marijuana. It's not cigarettes. It's John McCain. In one of its most specifically targeted efforts yet, MoveOn.org is urging young voters not to give into pressure to vote for the GOP candidate in an anti-drug parody ad, "Talk To Your Parents" (subscription).

The $150,000 ad buy is running on MTV and Comedy Central in university towns throughout North Carolina and Nevada as well as on nationwide cable during the CW series "Gossip Girl." Two actors from the show, Penn Badgley and Blake Lively, appear in the 30-second spot.

The ad plays off several familiar tropes from public service advertising to encourage young voters -- who polling suggests still lean strongly toward Barack Obama -- to talk with their parents and encourage them to support the Democrat. In the ad, Badgley holds up a McCain-Palin baseball cap that says "Drill Baby Drill!" "Mom? Dad? I found this in your room." A slew of young people then rattle off lines found in anti-drug ads. "Are you thinking about voting for John McCain?" one young person says, while another chimes in: "Just because other people your age are doing it, doesn't make it cool."

Peter Koechley, director of MoveOn’s young-voter outreach program, said the actors in "Gossip Girl" "speak extremely well" to the ad's targeted audience. He added that the spot aims to "break through the clutter and be sort of a funny ad, but with a serious message of getting young people to talk with their parents."

The ad is heavy on parody, but it doesn't address any specific issues. In response to that observation, Koechley said that the group doesn't need to win over its target audience to vote for Obama, they need to convince them to encourage their parents and others to do so as well.

"The basic point is that we're 25 days out and we don't need to convince our generation as much," Koechley said. "We're wholeheartedly behind Obama."

Click here to watch "Lose."

Barack Obama is using his cash advantage to overwhelm John McCain on the airwaves, outpacing his opponent in nearly every battleground state according to the latest data from the Wisconsin Ad Project [PDF]. Moreover, Evan Tracy, head of TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group, indicated in a blog post last week that Obama is on pace to spend more money on ads in the final 25 days of the campaign than McCain's entire $85 million allotment of public campaign funds. (McCain is also getting help from the Republican National Committee, but the Obama camp still bests both combined in fundraising).

Here are several spots that the Obama campaign has released in recent days:

"Lose" (subscription) pounds McCain for resorting to a "smear" campaign at a time of national economic crisis. "It's clear: With no plan to fix our economy, smears are all McCain has left," an announcer declares. The ad responds specifically to two allegations from the McCain camp regarding Obama's ties to Chicago politics. As a picture of a Ramada Inn appears, the announcer insists that is the location where Obama launched his political career, not the living room of Weather Underground member William Ayers. In response to a spot (subscription) released by the Republican National Committee that calls Obama adviser William Daley the "heir to the Chicago machine," Obama's ad notes that Daley was "confirmed as commerce secretary and praised for his great work by none other than John McCain."

Continue reading "Obama Looks To Bury McCain With Spending Spree" »

Click here to watch "Ambition."

Up until Thursday, direct attacks over Barack Obama's connections with one-time domestic terrorist William Ayers have come largely from stump speeches by Sarah Palin and negative ads by outside groups. With Nov. 4 fast approaching, however, Republicans are intensifying their scrutiny of Obama's past.

Three ads released in the last two days, coupled with John McCain's most explicit condemnation yet of Obama's ties with Ayers, illustrate the tone shift. At a town hall meeting in Wisconsin Thursday, the GOP nominee described Ayers as "an old, washed-up terrorist" and said "we need to know the full extent of the relationship because of whether Sen. Obama is telling the truth to the American people or not."

"Ambition" (subscription), a joint spot from McCain and the Republican National Committee, devotes its first 10 seconds to an aggressive examination of the Illinois senator's ties to Ayers, who co-founded the radical organization Weather Underground in the 1960s. "Obama's blind ambition. When convenient, he worked with terrorist Bill Ayers," the announcer seethes. "When discovered, he lied." The last two-thirds of the ad switches focus to the financial crisis, which it blames on "congressional liberals." The announcer concludes with a reference to "bad judgment," aiming to link the two topics of the ad together.

Another solo RNC ad unveiled this morning, "Chicago Way" (subscription), chides Obama more generally over his "training" in Chicago's world of "shady politics" under "teachers" like Tony Rezko, William Daley and, of course, Ayers. After detailing Obama's alleged ties with these men ("Rezko got Obama in on a shady land deal," for instance) an announcer warns voters that "there's more you need to know." This ad echoes much the same message (and names) of McCain's earlier "Chicago Machine," though that ad did not reference Ayers.

The solo RNC spot is running in Indiana and Wisconsin, while the joint ad is supposedly running nationwide.

Along with these TV ads, McCain also released a 90-second Web video Thursday with more on the Ayers connection. As in "Ambition," the announcer here argues that the controversy raises larger questions: "Obama's friendship with terrorist Ayers isn't the issue. The issue is Barack Obama's judgment and candor."

Requests for comment from the McCain camp and the RNC were not returned.

Barack Obama's campaign announced late Thursday that it has purchased 30 minutes of prime-time TV on Oct. 29, less than a week before Election Day, for the Illinois senator to make his closing argument to voters. Deals have been struck with CBS and NBC, while the campaign is reportedly still in negotiations with Fox News and other networks.

Ross Perot was the last candidate to employ the half-hour campaign infomercial strategy in 1992, but Vanderbilt University political science professor John Geer said purchasing big chunks of air time close to the election used to be common; Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter both made similar buys.

"I think it's smart politics" for Obama, Geer said. He noted that the utility of additional 30-second TV spots diminishes at the level of saturation that Obama and John McCain have achieved this cycle, so doing something different could be a good use of funds. And "Obama has enough money to be able to do this," he added.

With the country in the grip of a worsening economic crisis, voters are looking for a steady leader to guide them through an uncertain time, Geer said. One of Obama's biggest challenges, the professor said, has been to make voters comfortable with him as a president. He has seemed "unflappable" during the recent economic upheaval and, "given his rhetorical skills," a long spot from Obama is likely to be well-done. It could turn out to be the "modern equivalent of the fireside chat," Geer contended.

Geer also predicted that McCain’s camp might try to "redistribute" its resources to try something similar, giving the Arizona senator an equal chance to speak directly to voters.

Click here to watch "Mills."

In a strictly political sense, the failing economy has been a blessing to Barack Obama's candidacy. And the Illinois senator is capitalizing on the fiscal crisis in several TV ads running in battleground states.

In "Floridians Hurting" (subscription), Obama seeks to empathize with voters. "America's economy in crisis, and Floridians hurting more than most," the announcer begins. Citing unemployment and foreclosure statistics, he warns viewers: John McCain "promises more of the same failed Bush policies that got our economy into this mess in the first place." Obama has been rising in Florida polls over the last several weeks, coinciding with the economy's deterioration, and now sits nearly 5 percentage points ahead of McCain in Pollster.com's average.

"Mills" (subscription) is running in North Carolina, a traditionally red state that President Bush won by 8 points in 2004 but where Obama and McCain are in a dead heat now. The ad laments the fact that 17 manufacturing plants have recently closed their doors in the Tar Heel State and that "workers once proud to make the thread for American flags have [had] their futures outsourced to Asia." The announcer blames "politicians like John McCain, who supported trade deals and tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas."

"Unravel" (subscription), running in Florida and Pennsylvania, among other "key states," lambastes McCain's health care policy and warns viewers that they could end up paying more for coverage or even risk being "dropped completely" under McCain. "And since McCain won't require coverage for pre-existing conditions, finding a new plan could leave you hanging by a thread," the announcer says. PolitiFact, a nonpartisan fact-checking project, gave a similar Obama ad a "barely true" rating last week.

Finally, the Illinois senator is reaching out to a crucial voter bloc in several swing states: Hispanics. He launched "Otra Vez Con Lo Mismo" (subscription), or "Again, More of the Same," earlier this week in Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico -- all states where the Hispanic vote could be pivotal. "Here we go again," the announcer begins. "McCain is up to the same distortions and lies on the immigration issue." The announcer says McCain "turned his back" on the Latino community by not following through on his proposed immigration bill last summer. While the conventional wisdom was that Obama might have a hard time winning over Hispanics, a recent Gallup survey showed him maintaining a sizable advantage over McCain among this group: 64 percent to 26 percent.

Click here to listen to "American Jobs."

Ohio is the place to be this week. Barack Obama, John McCain and Sarah Palin have all been making the political rounds there the past few days. The Sierra Club, capitalizing on all the attention this battleground state is receiving, released a radio ad there Wednesday that contrasts the candidates' stances on clean energy.

In "American Jobs" (subscription) an announcer chides McCain for failure to support the clean energy industry and for voting "to make it easier for companies to outsource jobs." The announcer then claims that Obama is committed to clean energy and will create "5 million new jobs" in that sector.

Energy has been put on the back-burner the past few weeks due to the financial crisis. Through this spot, though, the Sierra Club aims to link energy directly to the issue that, according to organization spokesman Josh Dorner, is most crucial to residents in this industrial state -- jobs.

Click here to watch "GI Bill."

A veterans advocacy group launched a $350,000 television ad buy against John McCain in Virginia on Wednesday, savaging the senator for skipping a GI Bill vote in favor of a campaign fundraiser.

"Vet to vet, Senator McCain, when you put money from your rich friends ahead of vets like me, how is that 'Country First?'" asks Jason Bensley, an Iraq War veteran, in "GI Bill" (subscription).

Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets.org, explained that the group is running the ad in the Old Dominion because of the large number of veterans in the state and because Virginia Sen. Jim Webb (D) sponsored the bill. The ad is slated to air for just under two weeks.

In the ad, Bensley notes that McCain himself received a free education from the Naval Academy. The service academies are not affected by the GI Bill. But Soltz said that's the point: The government prioritizes free tuition "just for the elite officers, and that’s not appropriate."

VoteVets.org has targeted McCain for his failure to support the new GI Bill before. Soltz and retired Gen. Wesley Clark wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times in April encouraging McCain to support the bill, and the group ran a TV spot in the D.C. media market on the eve of the vote calling on McCain to support the legislation.

The new ad is part of a larger, $1.3 million campaign VoteVets.org announced Thursday. The group is also spending $200,000 to run a TV spot targeting Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., for voting against a bill that would have provided better body armor for troops.

Click here to watch "Fighter."

John McCain's health care plan has come under scrutiny of late, with two third-party groups releasing similarly fashioned ads that claim he would leave millions of Americans uninsured.

On Wednesday, Health Care For America Now -- a coalition of labor groups, liberal activists and health care organizations -- released "Fighter" (subscription), which asks McCain whether he's on the side of insurance companies or voters. In the spot, a woman laments that "under John McCain's health care plan, 20 million people could lose their insurance at work -- I could be one of them. And with a pre-existing condition like cancer, I couldn't get coverage on my own." She then incredulously asks: "He wants me to fight cancer and the insurance companies? Fine. I'll take you both on."

A United Auto Workers ad released Tuesday voices similar concerns, charging that McCain plans to get rid of tax incentives for employer-sponsored coverage. In "Nicole -- We Can't Afford John McCain" (subscription), an auto worker worries about how her son, Trevor, is going to receive health care for his asthma under the Arizona senator's plan. "John McCain is going to tax our health benefits. We'd have to pay up to $2,800 a year," Michigan resident Nicole Lowe says. "My company could pay higher taxes, too. They could just walk away from health care. We could lose our benefits."

"It's an absolutely atrocious plan," said Jacki Schechner, national communications director of Health Care For America Now. "There's really no other way to put it." UAW public relations director Roger Kerson agreed: "It's a very radical plan to change how health care is delivered to more than 160 million people."

Continue reading "Third Parties Rip McCain Over Health Care Coverage" »

Click here to watch "Tested."

In perhaps the most newsworthy moment of Tuesday night's debate between John McCain and Barack Obama, the Arizona senator announced a new $300 billion proposal to let homeowners refinance their mortgages with assistance from the government. The plan is getting mixed reviews, but Obama came out in opposition to it on Wednesday and this morning launched a TV ad suggesting it puts "bad actors ahead of taxpayers."

"Tested" (subscription) begins with pictures of a foreclosure sign and stunned bankers on Wall Street, as an announcer says, "In a time of crisis, our leaders' judgment is tested." The spot goes on to show footage of McCain from the debate saying he would "order the secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America." The announcer suggests, however, that McCain's proposal came without any relevant "details," and he cites a CNNMoney.com article from Wednesday claiming that McCain's plan would guarantee "a loss of taxpayer money" while rewarding "the same lenders that caused the crisis in the first place."

The Obama campaign's economic policy director, Jason Furman, also put out a statement yesterday calling the plan "erratic policy-making at its worst." "Senator McCain's first response to this economic crisis was to say that the fundamentals of our economy are strong. Since then, he's acknowledged that there is a crisis and offered multiple plans, sometimes conflicting," Furman said. "Now that he's finally released the details of his [mortgage] plan, it turns out it's even more costly and out-of-touch than we ever imagined."

Meanwhile, on the trail Wednesday McCain spent little time expanding on his new proposal, focusing instead on raising questions about Obama's associations and readiness to lead.

John McCain purchased $1.25 million worth of television advertising in Michigan last week, the same week he withdrew from the state and effectively conceded defeat.

McCain's substantial (and puzzling) ad buys from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 are the most he has ever spent in seven days in the Wolverine State, according to a report [PDF] released Wednesday by the nonpartisan University of Wisconsin Advertising Project. Of the 15 battleground states where McCain bought ads last week, he spent more money only in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

But McCain more or less conceded Michigan Oct. 2, pulling ads and shipping most staffers to more competitive states. And unlike Barack Obama's recent retreats from North Dakota and Georgia, where the Illinois senator had been hoping for a long-shot pickoff, McCain had identified Michigan as a central front in his battle for 270 electoral votes.

"It's not like they were messing around in Michigan," said Ken Goldstein, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the ad project. "They made a serious effort there, and now they have made a serious effort to pull out."

Continue reading "McCain Spent $1.25 Million In Michigan On Eve of Pullout" »

All ad summary and tip sheet pages are available to subscribers only.

Alaska Senate (tip sheet)

• The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee alleges Sen. Ted Stevens (R) did political favors for his brother-in-law in "Maverick?"

Louisiana Senate (tip sheet)

• In "Bermuda," Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) attacks John Kennedy (R) for his ties to an insurance company.

Maine Senate (tip sheet)

• Democratic Rep. Tom Allen focuses on the economy in two new ads, calling for a "New Direction" from leaders in Washington and slamming the Bush administration's fiscal policies in "What We Need."

• The DSCC goes after Republican incumbent Susan Collins in "Know," saying she is just more of the same when the country needs change.

Mississippi Senate (tip sheet)

• The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee assails former Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's record in "Colorful," blaming him for job losses and linking him to attorney Dickie Scruggs, who has been convicted of bribery.

New Hampshire Senate (tip sheet)

• Referencing the financial crisis, the announcer in "Serious" contends that former Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen's record proves she's qualified to improve New Hampshire's economy.

• "Common Sense," from incumbent Sen. John Sununu (R), blames Shaheen for not anticipating the financial crisis and claims Sununu fought years ago for more regulation.

• The NRSC attacks Shaheen's record on education in "Apple" and her ability to handle taxpayers' money in "Promotion."

• In "Spending Scheme," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce slams Shaheen's spending record and calls her a "taxing machine."

New Mexico Senate (tip sheet)

• The economic positions of Reps. Steve Pearce (R) and Tom Udall (D) are contrasted in Udall's "Two Views," with the announcer claiming Pearce falls in line with President Bush.

Oregon Senate (tip sheet)

• The NRSC attacks Jeff Merkley (D) over deficit spending in "Bad Bet."

• Merkley rips Sen. Gordon Smith (R) in "Breaks" for supporting the bailout plan and the Bush tax cuts.

• Smith, meanwhile, recalls reaching across the aisle to work with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., on hate-crimes legislation in "Matthew."

South Dakota Senate (tip sheet)

• Democratic incumbent Tim Johnson's daughter, "Kelsey," vouches for her father's character in one recent spot. Meanwhile, in "Ethanol," two South Dakota farmers claim that Johnson's "clout" in the Senate has helped boost ethanol production, while a local leader hails Johnson's role in preventing an Air Force base closure in "Ellsworth."

• Republican challenger and state representative Joel Dykstra has gone on an ad spree, as well, criticizing Johnson for failing to regulate financial firms as a member of the Senate Banking Committee in one ad, providing a quick biographical summary in another spot, and enlisting his wife, Vicki, to voice his change message in another.

Washington governor (tip sheet)

• Dino Rossi (R) argues that Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) is in "Denial" about the state's budget, contrasting her assertion that there is a surplus with media reports suggesting the opposite.

Click here to watch "Texas Law Enforcement Officer."

The National Rifle Association is intensifying it's anti-Barack Obama media campaign, launching an additional TV spot -- including a Spanish-language version -- in several news battleground states. But the Illinois senator is defending his position on gun control and using other strategies to try to reach out to a segment of the population targeted by the NRA: rural voters.

The NRA has already spent several million dollars running ads in Colorada, New Mexico and Pennsylvania, but the group is now moving into media markets in Florida, Ohio and Virginia with a new spot, "Texas Law Enforcement Officer" (subscription). The ad features Andy Vaquera, a retired police officer from Texas, who says that in his line of work he has "seen firsthand the tragedy that happens when people are stripped of their gun rights." Footage of crime scenes and red and blue flashing lights play on screen as Vaquera evokes what is a sensitive issue in many states: illegal immigration. "Families should be able to defend themselves against rapists, drug dealers and other criminals illegally crossing our borders," he insists, claiming that Obama would prevent Americans from being able to use guns in self-defense.

Obama is firing back with his own ad (subscription) featuring a lifetime NRA member, Greg West, expressing his support for the Democratic nominee. "I hunt, I fish, I love the outdoors," West says, adding his love for America to that list and proclaiming, "I support Barack Obama." An announcer ensures veiwers that Obama "supports gun rights, our right to defend ourselves, the Second Amendment," before pivoting to a brief attack on John McCain's tax policy. West appears on screen at the end, calling Obama "our best hope for true change in Washington."

The Obama campaign says they plan to run the ad wherever the NRA puts its spots on air.

The Illinois senator is also getting some help courting rural voters in Southern Virginia from an unlikely source: bluegrass music legend Ralph Stanley. Stanley is featured in a radio ad (subscription), greeting listeners with a friendly "howdy" before launching into his pitch for Obama. "I think I know a little something about the families around here. And after the last eight years, I know we all need a change," the musician twangs, banjo music playing in the background. Stanley praises Obama's economic and education policies before testifying for the candidate's character: "Barack is a good man. A father and devoted husband, he values personal responsibility and family first." He concludes by asking viewers to join him on Election Day "in supporting a true friend of the people who live right here in Southwest Virginia."

State polls this week show Obama slightly ahead in each of the new states that the NRA is targeting -- Florida, Ohio and Virginia.

Click here to watch "Folks."

The National Journal 2007 Senate vote ratings, released in January, attracted a lot of attention for ranking Barack Obama as the most liberal senator. Now they're front and center once again in John McCain's latest ad, "Folks" (subscription).

The ad wastes no time getting to the point. "Who is Barack Obama?" it begins. "The National Journal says he's the Senate's most liberal. How extreme." It then uses footage from two interviews Obama gave to show how he "defend[s] himself." In one clip, from an interview Obama did in September with MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, he says of the McCain campaign's advertising, "They're not telling the truth." In the other clip, from an interview conducted with the Christian Broadcasting Network in August, he says of those who attack his position on abortion, "I hate to say that people are lying, but here's a situation where folks are lying."

"Not presidential," says the ad's announcer. Repeating the clip of Obama saying "folks are lying," the ad tries to portray him as cagey and defensive.

It’s not the first time McCain has leveled the "most liberal" charge at Obama, but it is the first time an ad from the McCain camp has cited National Journal's vote ratings so explicitly as its central argument. In a column published during the Democratic convention, National Journal editor Charles Green explained the reasoning behind the ratings and responded to some of the criticisms that have been leveled against them.

Barack Obama's new 13-minute video on John McCain's role in the "Keating Five" scandal is making waves this week, but it's only the latest salvo in what has been an ongoing ad war in cyberspace between the two candidates.

As Amy Harder discusses in a new NationalJournal.com online exclusive, Web advertising in all its incarnations is opening up a new set of opportunities -- and risks -- for presidential campaigns, and McCain and Obama are taking advantage of the technology in sharply distinctive ways.

Click here to watch "Taketh."

Barack Obama continues to use TV ads to hammer away at John McCain's health care plan, releasing a spot this morning that includes footage of an exchange between the two during last night's presidential debate.

"Taketh" (subscription) opens with McCain vowing to viewers that he will give them a $5,000 tax credit to be put toward health care costs. "What he doesn't tell you," Obama told the audience of undecided voters in Nashville, Tenn., "is that he's going to tax your employer-based health care benefits, for the first time ever." Obama has claimed in previous ads that McCain's policy will end up costing middle-class families more, while representing the largest tax increase in the nation's history. "So what one hand giveth, the other hand taketh away," Obama said Tuesday night.

McCain got high marks from some pundits for his handling of domestic issues at Belmont University, but according to early polls, viewers saw the Illinois senator as the winner of Tuesday night's showdown.

Click here to watch "The Subject."

The bitter back-and-forth between Barack Obama and John McCain continued this morning as each candidate released a TV ad accusing the other of dishonest attacks, setting a contentious tone for tonight's presidential debate in Nashville, Tenn.

Obama's spot, "The Subject" (subscription), echoes an ad (subscription) released yesterday in denouncing McCain's efforts to shift attention from the struggling economy. "He's out of ideas, out of touch and running out of time," the announcer says, portraying McCain as desperate, with the election clock winding down.

The spot goes on to claim that McCain has no solution for getting the country out of its current fiscal downturn, so he is turning to "smears." It also cites comments from an unidentified McCain adviser who told the New York Daily News on Monday: "If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we're going to lose." The ad appeals to voters who are suffering as they "lose their jobs, homes and savings" and insists that "it's time for a president who'll change the economy -- not change the subject."

With similarly harsh language, McCain goes after Obama's image as an above-the-fray politician and seeks to raise questions about what he stands for in "Hypo" (subscription). The spot opens with footage from a local TV news report in Missouri in which the reporter says the Obama campaign asked law enforcement officials to "target" anyone running misleading attack ads against the Democratic candidate. "How hypocritical," an announcer charges, citing reports that characterize several of Obama's ads as "falsehood[s]," and "not true." Obama "promised better," the announcer concludes. "He lied."

The candidates go into tonight's debate at Belmont University in Nashville with Obama holding a lead in national and battleground state polls.

Click here to watch "Breaks."

The unpopular but necessary bailout package has been passed, and it will now recede into the background for the rest of the campaign season, right?

Not a chance.

The presidential candidates may be turning to new lines of attack, but the bailout bill is still red meat for plenty of congressional challengers, who are are spinning the $700 billion legislation in TV spots across the country.

John Gard, the GOP challenger in Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District, has been running an ad decrying the bailout plan since Sept. 26, several days before the House voted initially to reject the legislation. In the spot, Gard attacks his opponent, Rep. Steve Kagen, for supporting tax increases and then criticizes the bailout, saying that "Washington's got it wrong again" and implying that Kagen is part of that equation. Even though Kagen twice voted against the financial rescue bill, Gard campaign strategist Mark Graul credits his candidate with coming out against the proposal early on.

Other candidates and committees are sticking by the sports maxim that the best defense is a good offense. In Oregon, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is doing its best to spread the blame for the politically volatile legislation. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., voted for the bailout, while his Democratic opponent Jeff Merkley publicly opposed it; but on Thursday the NRSC began running "Bad Bet" (subscription), which tries to link Merkley to the bailout he opposed. The TV spot alleges that Merkley presided over deficit spending as speaker of the state House of Representatives. The ad continues by saying that, "just like Washington, Merkley borrows the money and mortgages our future."

"Jeff Merkley can come out against the bailout package all he wants, but it won’t change his record," said Mary-Sarah Kinner, NRSC deputy press secretary, in an e-mail. "We believe it’s important to warn voters against sending Merkley’s reckless economic record to Washington to fix the problems we currently have -- he will only make things worse."

For his part, Merkley fired back today with an ad linking Smith to the bailout and the Bush tax cuts.

Rep. Jim Marshall of Georgia's 8th district, is another incumbent with the bailout albatross around his neck. The Georgia Democrat, however, hopes to parlay his unpopular vote into an example of his ability to make tough choices in the face of criticism. In a new ad, "Economic Rescue" (subscription), he explains to his constituents why he voted in support of the bill.

"I approve this message because you elected me to do what's best for America," Marshall explains from his perch on the edge of a desk. "Not what's easy."

Doug Moore, a Marshall campaign spokesman, said the ad was designed to be "straight" with constituents who are unhappy with the congressman's support of the bill.

“He’s not 40 years old, and this is not what he wants to do with the rest of his life," Moore said. "I know it sounds trite, but even though it might cost him personally, he’s going to do the right thing.”

Click here to watch "Worried Sick."

As John McCain's campaign seeks to shift the presidential race away from pocketbook issues, Barack Obama is keeping the focus on the kitchen table. The Illinois senator's camp is striking on health care, hitting the topic repeatedly on the campaign trail and charging in several new TV spots that McCain's plan would cost working families more and amount to the largest tax increase ever for many of them.

Obama began the onslaught last week with "Prescription" (subscription), which portrays McCain's explanation of his plan as a half-truth. "John McCain talks about a $5,000 tax credit for health care," but "he's not telling you" the whole story, the announcer says. The Arizona senator's plan calls for employees to "pay income tax on your health insurance benefits, taxing health benefits for the first time ever." What's worse, the ad says, the revenue from those taxes "goes straight to the insurance companies." The announcer concludes that McCain's plan resorts to "taxing health care instead of fixing it." (PolitiFact, a joint project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly, scores the ad as "barely true" for its claim that McCain's plan would leave people on their own, noting that "there's ample evidence to show that the plan would be a wash for most workers.")

"One Word" (subscription) conveys a nearly identical message, labeling the McCain health care plan "a multitrillion-dollar tax hike, the largest middle-class tax increase in history." The announcer goes on to warn viewers that a McCain administration "could cost your family thousands" in additional health care costs.

Meanwhile, in "Coin" (subscription), Obama claims that while he would increase coverage for routine treatments, McCain would "deregulate the insurance giants, letting them bypass patient protections in your state." Furthermore, whereas Obama would require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions, "McCain would let them continue to do as they please." Playing on the image of a flipped coin, the announcer asks, "Isn't your health care too important to be left to chance?"

Obama is also getting an assist from the Service Employees International Union, a labor group that has endorsed him and run several ads promoting his candidacy.

"Worried Sick" (subscription) features two women walking through the grocery store, discussing the difficulties one of them is facing after her husband has undergone surgery. "I don’t know how we’re going to pay all the bills," she frets, adding: "We’ve got insurance, but it doesn’t seem to cover much." If voters are "worried sick about health care costs" now, an announcer interjects, "John McCain's plan won’t help."

SEIU is running the ad in battleground states Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Click here to watch "This Year."

With under a month to go until Election Day, John McCain and Barack Obama are getting personal. Both campaigns have announced they're launching more aggressive attacks which take aim at each other's character and try to establish guilt by association.

For its part, the Obama camp has launched a TV ad as well as an online messaging effort -- complete with a 13-minute documentary -- highlighting McCain's involvement in the Keating Five savings and loan scandal nearly 20 years ago. Meanwhile, the GOP camp has plans to release several ads that take aim at Obama's judgment and personal associations.

The Illinois senator released his TV spot, "This Year" (subscription) on Saturday that preemptively defends himself from McCain's anticipated attacks by characterizing his opponent as desperate. It is also the first TV from the Obama camp to directly reference McCain's temperament -- citing a USA Today editorial that labels McCain's response to the financial meltdown as "erratic."

"No wonder his campaign’s announced a plan to 'turn the page on the financial crisis,'" the ad's announcer says, referencing Saturday's Washington Post story about the McCain campaign's plan of attack. The spot goes on to accuse McCain distracting voters "with dishonest, dishonorable 'assaults' against" Obama at a time when people are concerned about the country's economic future. "We can’t afford another president who’s this out of touch," he says, as a photo of McCain and President Bush fills the screen.

The McCain camp said it's waiting until after the second presidential debate Tuesday to release the series of new ads that, among other things, brings to the forefront Obama's relationship with Chicago businessman and now convicted felon Tony Rezko. In the meantime, however, Republicans aren't skimping on on harsh accusations.

An ad released this morning, "Dangerous" (subscription), throws the "dishonorable" charge back at Obama for supposedly saying at an August rally that U.S. troops are "just air-raiding villages and killing civilians." But the footage used in "Dangerous" takes Obama's comments out of context; what he said was, "We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there." The Illinois senator has, in fact, called for sending additional troops to Afghanistan

This ad comes on the heels of another, "Promise," released by the McCain camp after the first presidential debate. The spot pits the Democratic ticket against itself, calling Obama out for voting again troop funding and highlighting Joe Biden's criticism of that position.

The Obama camp was quick to respond to the most recent ad via a statement by John B. Natham, a retired four-star admiral: "Despite consistent distortions of his record, thousands of veterans like myself support Senator Obama because he has the judgment, character and integrity to be a great president."

-- Mary Gilbert contributed to this report.

Click here to watch "Tax Cutter."

In the aftermath of the vice presidential debate, John McCain released an ad today that follows up on Thursday night's event, even though no footage from it appears in the spot.

"Tax Cutter" (subscription) opens with footage of Barack Obama claiming to be just that at a recent rally in Florida, but the spot contradicts the Illinois senator by saying he voted for higher taxes 94 times. "He's not truthful on taxes," an announcer chides. Headlines describing Democratic spending continue that theme as another announcer says, "At least congressional liberals admit they want to raise your taxes," aiming to further isolate and chastise Obama.

In their only debate, the running mates sparred over which presidential nominee has raised taxes the most. Sarah Palin threw the first punch, contending that Obama raised taxes 94 times. The Alaska governor used the number three times in one sentence: "Barack had 94 opportunities to side on the people's side and reduce taxes, and 94 times he voted to increase taxes or not support a tax reduction -- 94 times."

Joe Biden retorted that "the charge is absolutely not true. Barack Obama did not vote to raise taxes. The vote she's referring to, John McCain voted the exact same way. It was a budget procedural vote. John McCain voted the same way. It did not raise taxes. Number two, using the standard that the governor uses, John McCain voted 477 times to raise taxes."

The McCain camp also released an ad immediately following the first presidential debate; it didn't include any debate footage, either. On the other hand, the Obama camp's two follow-up ads have both included explicit references to the debates. "Can't Explain," also released today, uses the portion of the veep debate where the candidates dispute health care tax credits to slam McCain for his plans to adjust the system.

Click here to view "Can't Explain."

Barack Obama began airing a new TV spot (subscription) today that features arguably Joe Biden's best sound bite from last night's debate, challenging Sarah Palin's statements on health care.

During Thursday night's forum, Biden criticized John McCain's plan to give families a $5,000 tax credit for health care because it would mean taxing employer health plans. "Taxing your health care benefit," he said. "I call that the ultimate 'Bridge to Nowhere.'"

The line, a thinly veiled jab at Palin's onetime support for the now-infamous Gravina Island Bridge -- a.k.a. the "Bridge to Nowhere" -- drew a laugh from the otherwise well-behaved crowd at Washington University in St. Louis last night.

"Can't Explain" is the second Obama spot this fall to make use of debate footage: The Illinois senator hit the airwaves last week with an ad highlighting the fact that McCain did not use the phrase "middle class" in their first debate. McCain produced an ad mocking Obama for agreeing with the Arizona senator a number of times in their first meeting, but that spot was released on the Web only.

In terms of sheer quantity of negative ads aired, John McCain and Barack Obama are running about even, according to a new report from Nielsen. From June 3 to Sept. 7, the Democratic candidate placed 75,246 ads attacking McCain; the Republican returned fire with 76,238 negative ads against Obama.

Data provided to NationalJournal.com from Nielsen shows where each candidate is hitting the other hardest: Voters in Ohio and Michigan have borne the brunt of both campaigns' attack ads, although McCain's apparent pullout from Michigan could bring relief to attack-weary viewers in that state. Both campaigns are also funneling their ad dollars toward attacks in the closely contested battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

The Nielsen numbers reveal that McCain has run about twice as many negative ads in Iowa as has Obama, in a bid to keep the Hawkeye State red. The Arizona Republican has also poured on the attacks in New Mexico and -- somewhat surprisingly -- in West Virginia as well, while Obama has outspent McCain on negative ads in Virginia and Florida.

Obama's most-run negative ad is a spot he first began running in August, called "Book," which criticizes McCain for voting with President Bush and supporting the war in Iraq. McCain's go-to attack ad, which has aired over 16,000 times, is called "Expensive Plans," and tars Obama as eager to tax and unable to lead.

Democratic and Republican Jewish advocacy groups are flooding Jewish newspapers around the country with dueling ads on Barack Obama's support for Israel.

The National Jewish Democratic Council began running a full-page ad [PDF] Friday that touts Obama’s support for the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2007 and his co-sponsorship of the Palestinian Anti-Terror Act. The ad is mostly blue and white (the colors of the Israeli flag) and runs under the headline "A New Year, A New Direction" -- an allusion to Rosh Hashanah.

The group released another print ad [PDF] today highlighting Obama's support for abortion rights. Both ads are running in Jewish newspapers "around the country," said Ira Forman, executive director of the Council, though he declined to say which ones.

The Republican Jewish Coalition has also been pumping money into print advertising in recent weeks, unveiling five new ads in the last month. While its Democratic counterpart has primarily stuck to positive messages about Obama or contrasted the two presidential candidates, the Republican group is leading a full-fledged assault on the Illinois senator's Israel credentials.

Continue reading "Jewish Advocacy Groups Trade Barbs Over Obama" »

Click here to watch "Fraudulent."

Judging from the McCain campaign's TV advertising, it took them only about 30 minutes to get over the economic crisis their candidate contends should be uniting the country.

At about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the camp released "Week" (subscription), an ad that shows John McCain speaking directly to voters about the importance of unity in solving the financial crisis. Just over half an hour later, however, the camp launched a Spanish-language spot, "Fraudulent" (subscription), attacking Barack Obama and his "allies in Congress" on immigration.

"Democrats blamed Republicans, Republicans blamed Democrats," McCain laments in his positive 30-second spot. "We’re the United States of America. It shouldn’t take a crisis to pull us together." The rest of the ad goes on to tout McCain's ability to revive the economy, making no further reference to Obama or other congressional Democrats.

"Fraudulent" is quite another story, however. That ad makes the claim that "Obama and his allies in Congress killed immigration reform" -- despite the fact that Obama voted in favor of the 2006 comprehensive immigration reform bill. It goes on to quote media criticism of an Obama ad that unfairly linked McCain to Rush Limbaugh. "They've said no to us long enough. This election, let's tell them no," the announcer concludes. This ad, per the press release, will be accompanied by radio ads, all running in the battleground states of Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.

McCain himself has spent a lot of time recently emphasizing the importance of bipartisanship while Congress wades through the bailout legislation. But his ads -- no matter what language they're in -- are suggesting otherwise.

Click here to watch "Heartless."

As more and more is dug up on Sarah Palin's record in Alaska, more outside groups are taking notice -- and taking to the airwaves. Planned Parenthood is the latest, releasing an ad, "Heartless" (subscription), that shows a rape victim expressing her fears about John McCain and Palin.

The 30-second spot debuts today in the battleground states of Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as in St. Louis, host city of tonight's vice presidential debate. The ad refers to reports that the city of Wasilla, Alaska, billed sexual assault victims for rape kits while Palin was mayor. It pairs that with McCain’s 1994 Senate vote against the Violence Against Women Act, a bill that created federal criminal penalties for domestic violence and penalized jurisdictions that charged sexual abuse survivors for their own rape examinations by depriving them of federal money. On the other side of the race, Barack Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, has been touting his help in passing the bill, what he calls one of his proudest moments in the Senate.

The announcer seethes that Palin and McCain supported "heartless policies." Rape victim Gretchen reacts by saying their records are "something to me that's unthinkable. It scares me to death."

While the McCain camp does not comment on third-party ads, Republican National Committee spokesman Danny Diaz said, “Planned Parenthood’s ad is a vicious smear against Senator McCain and Governor Palin. This ad is patently false and represents the worst kind of politics."

Two reports by PolitiFact, a joint project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly, indicate the ad doesn't tell the whole story. One found that although Palin was mayor at the time rape victims were charged, there's no evidence that she explicitly endorsed the practice. As for McCain’s vote against the Violence Against Women Act, PolitiFact says the ad is "cherry-picking" his record. The specific vote the ad cites is one in which the Arizona senator voted against a larger bill that contained the legislation, for reasons unrelated to that specific act. He had, however, voted for it nine months earlier and supported it again in 2000.

An environmental advocacy group is purchasing more airtime for a graphic TV spot that attacks Gov. Sarah Palin for her support of aerial wolf hunting in Alaska.

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund began airing the minute-long ad "Brutal" in Ohio and Florida on Sept. 12, later expanding it into Michigan. The spot seems to have hit a nerve with animal rights activists, who have donated more than $1 million to the group since it started airing. Flush with cash, the D.C.-based action fund will soon begin running the ad in Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia and Missouri, the site of Thursday’s vice presidential debate.

The ad also resonated with a focus group conducted two weeks ago by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. The ad “seemed to strike a chord with voters,” said Glenn Kessler, president and CEO of HCD Research, in a Sept. 15 press release. “The recent ads from both parties have had little impact,” Kessler said. “This is the first ad in over a month that seems to have broken through.”

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund could not be reached for comment.

Click here to watch "Skipped."

Vets For Freedom, an organization of combat veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, is targeting Barack Obama in a new TV ad for what the group says is his failure to lead on the two conflicts.

Opening with an image of a smiling Obama lounging in a chair behind his desk, "Skipped" (subscription) notes Obama's high absentee rate in the Senate – he missed 45 percent of votes -- but says that "he did manage to show up to vote against emergency funding for our troops." The announcer goes on to criticize the Illinois senator for not holding any hearings as the chairman of the Senate oversight committee on Afghanistan. And he points out that Obama has traveled to Iraq only twice, while during the course of the presidential race he visited Iowa 45 times.

Brian Bowers, an Iraq war veteran, appears on screen at the end urging viewers to call Obama and ask him to support Senate Resolution 636. The bill, sponsored by two of John McCain's closest surrogates, Sens. Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., calls for the recognition of the success of the troop surge in Iraq.

The accusation against Obama regarding troop funding came up in the first presidential debate, where Obama defended his vote as a reflection on his position seeking a timetable for withdrawal. "Senator McCain opposed funding for troops in legislation that had a timetable, because he didn't believe in a timetable," Obama pointed out. "I opposed funding a mission that had no timetable, and was open-ended, giving a blank check to George Bush. We had a difference on the timetable. We didn't have a difference on whether or not we were going to be funding troops." Factcheck.org, meanwhile, reported in response to a McCain campaign ad released in July that while Obama did cast one "no" vote on legislation providing money for combat efforts, he voted at least 10 times in favor of increased funding.

As for the committee Obama chairs, it does not, in fact, have direct oversight of the war in Afghanistan. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on European Affairs does have jurisdiction over NATO affairs, and NATO has played a large role in the conflict. But hearings on Afghanistan have been held in front of the full Foreign Relations Committee, headed by Obama's running mate, Joe Biden. ABC News reported in July that Obama has attended one of the three full committee hearings on Afghanistan held within the last two years, while McCain has missed all three.

"This is a despicable distortion of Senator Obama's record," spokesman Nick Shapiro said. "Senator Obama has been a forceful advocate for our service members, passing legislation that ensured our wounded warriors receive the care and treatment they deserve, fighting to end disparities in veterans health care benefits, and proposing a plan to revitalize our military to meet the threats and challenges of the 21st century."

Click here to watch "Spending Spree."

Barack Obama is going after John McCain's reputation as a fiscal conservative in a new TV ad released this afternoon.

"Spending Spree" (subscription) opens with footage of McCain saying that he "can't wait to introduce" his running mate, Sarah Palin, "to the big spenders in Washington." "Big spenders… like John McCain," the announcer jeers. He argues that McCain's policies on taxes and Social Security would add trillions of dollars to the national debt. "So as we borrow from China to fund his spending spree, ask yourself: Can we afford John McCain?"

Click here to watch "Chose."

So far John McCain has not played the Jeremiah Wright card in his contest with Barack Obama. The Judicial Confirmation Network did it for him today, however, with a new TV spot that questions Obama's judgment in choosing associates and what that might mean for the Supreme Court should he be elected.

JCN, which lobbied for the appointments of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito, favors a more conservative judiciary. The new ad is part of a $1 million advertising and grassroots effort to "raise awareness and recruit activists on the critical issue of the U.S. Supreme Court," according to the group's Web site. The ads will run in markets in Ohio and Michigan, as well as on national cable spanning the vice presidential debate on Thursday night and the start of the new Supreme Court session next Monday.

"Chose" (subscription) opens with JCN counsel Wendy Long explaining that the next president could choose as many as four new justices for the Court. She then presses the "play" button for an ad within the ad, in which an announcer begins: "We don't know who Barack Obama would choose, but we know" who some of his associates have been in the past. The ad goes on to link Obama to Chicago businessman Tony Rezko, now a convicted felon; William Ayers, a member of the Weather Underground, an anti-war group that bombed the Pentagon and the Capitol during the Vietnam era; and, of course, Obama's former pastor, the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright. "Obama chose to associate with these men while voting against" Roberts and Alito, the announcer concludes.

"A President Obama or a President McCain will be likely be handed an opportunity to affect the make-up of the Supreme Court that is unprecedented in our history," Long said in a press release. "JCN is educating Americans about the differences between an 'Obama Court' that would engage in judicial activism, acting as a super-legislature and imposing a political agenda from the bench, and a 'McCain Court' that would likely practice judicial restraint and fairly apply the law based on what the Constitution says and on laws passed by the representatives accountable to the American people," she added.

The Obama camp fought back hard in August against a TV ad run by another third-party group in which Ayers was prominently featured. And the Illinois senator has emphatically cut ties with Rezko and Wright.

Candidates around the country are increasingly turning to an effective but controversial technology known as behavioral targeting in order to reach potential voters online. The ads work by tracking Web users in order to identify the issues they're most interested in.

Businesses have used the ads for years, and both presidential campaigns employ them. But, as David Herbert explains in a new NationalJournal.com online exclusive, downballot candidates are increasingly getting in on the act -- even as Congress has recently held hearings into whether the technology intrudes on privacy rights.

Click here to watch "Rein."

While John McCain continues to release a TV ad every day, his online ad campaign has intensified within the last couple of days. Three Web videos have already been released this week, all more derisive and mocking than their TV counterparts. The increased focus on production-cheap online ads rather than the more expensive TV spots likely has to do with the campaign's fundraising, which continues to lag behind that of Barack Obama.

The McCain camp released the TV ad "Rein" (subscription) Tuesday, which uses a clip of former President Bill Clinton, in a Sept. 25 interview on ABC's "Good Morning America," casting doubt on the Democrats' efforts to blame the market turmoil on Republicans: "I think the responsibility that the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress or by me when I was president to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." The ad also cites media reports that suggest McCain has been active in trying to solve the financial crisis while Obama has remained "silent."

The campaign's recent online ads are more caustic in their approach. "Strong" uses a comment Obama made -- "We've got the long-term fundamentals that will really make sure this economy grows" -- to suggest that Obama either agrees with McCain's much-talked-about statement that the "fundamentals of the economy are strong" or is being disingenuous in his attacks on McCain. "Either way," an announcer concludes, "Obama's a hypocrite."

Two other Web ads -- "Alaska's Political Circus" and "Better Off" -- focus almost solely on Sarah Palin. "Alaska's Political Circus" airs jaunty music and accuses "Obama partisans" in Alaska of conducting politically charged inquiries into Palin's history. "Better Off," meanwhile, shows Palin denouncing Obama's positions on taxes.

So, where is McCain in all these ads? When his running mate appears to garner the lion's share of the media attention (for better or worse), these spots appear to be aimed at harnessing that attention in a more favorable light to Palin.

Click here to watch "One Heartbeat Away."

Sometimes, a song says it all. That's how 85,000 nurses aim to send their message that the health problems of 72-year-old John McCain put Sarah Palin just "one heartbeat away" from being president.

A new 30-second spot, released this morning by the National Nurses Organizing Committee and California Nurses Association, opens with a still photo of McCain while a female vocalist sings, "Your heart’s been achin,' can’t go on forever now." The song plays on as the ad lists various controversies surrounding Palin, including the fact that the city of Wasilla billed sexual assault victims for rape kits while she was mayor, that Palin reportedly wanted to ban books from a local library and that she opposed the "Bridge to Nowhere" while keeping the funding for it.

The ad is currently running in a "six-figure buy" in Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri this week; the group says it may extend that run.

The spot's release was timed to coincide with a report released Tuesday by an actuary firm, Bragg Associates, that concluded that McCain would have a 1 in 4 chance of dying from natural causes in his second term as president. Charles Idelson, spokesman for the nurses organizations, said that McCain's health risks paired with his controversial VP pick is a growing concern among doctors across the country. "It’s an issue which has not been widely discussed, but it is on the mind of many voters and we think it does deserve a public airing," Idelson said. Along with the ad, the organizations' members are also urging McCain to release his full and complete medical records.

The McCain camp doesn't comment on third-party ads, but Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, called the ad "offensive and rife with errors and distortions. These sorts of disgusting ads being run by Obama's special interest allies are part of what's wrong with Washington."

The nurses' message echoes a previous TV ad (since pulled from the airwaves) that uses unflattering images of McCain's cancer scars coupled with doctors expressing their concern over his health to push for a more complete review of his medical records. The spot was sponsored by Democracy For America and Brave New PAC.