Third Party Evokes Reagan In Pitch For Obama

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...

Conservative PAC Belittles Obama's Foreign Policy Creds

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...

Abortion Survivor Responds To Obama

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,...

McCain Tweaks Obama As Not Ready For Prime Time

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...

McCain, RNC Return To Staple Attacks On Obama

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...

Wright Appears In Late Third-Party Attack

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...

Third Party Makes Swing-State Anti-Obama Pitch

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...

Vets Target Obama In Colorado And Ohio

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...

Conservative PAC Picks Up Slack In Michigan

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...

Camps Piping Up To Catch The 'Joe' Vote

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...

Republican Jews Hit Obama On Foreign Policy Creds

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...

McCain Opts For Lower-Profile Ad Launches

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...

PAC Evokes Hamas & Wright In Obama Attack

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...

McCain, RNC Unleash Ayers Attacks

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...

Jewish Advocacy Groups Trade Barbs Over Obama

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...

Veterans Take On Obama's War Record

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...

Third Party References Rezko, Ayers & Wright

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...

New 527 Seeks To Put Abortion Back On The Agenda

A new pro-life 527 group, BornAliveTruth.org, has hit the airwaves with a TV spot (subscription) attacking Barack Obama for his votes against the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act in the Illinois state Senate. The spot -- running in New Mexico and...

'Lipstick' Video Pulled From YouTube

A McCain campaign Web video accusing Barack Obama of sexist "smears" against Sarah Palin has been pulled from YouTube at the request of CBS, but not before racking up countless views online and on cable news throughout Wednesday. CBS asked...

Lipstick Politics

Responding to a Barack Obama TV ad (subscription), John McCain's campaign took to the airwaves Tuesday evening to push back on the issue of education and turn the tables on the Illinois senator. Their response ad, however, has drawn an...

Pre-Emptive Strike In The Twin Cities

The South Carolina Republican Party wants viewers in the Twin Cities to know that Barack Obama failed to mention one "home" of John McCain's in his attacks on the Arizona senator and his multiple houses. "Home" highlights McCain's captivity in...

Unlikely Congratulations

No celebrity reference. No charge that Barack Obama isn’t ready to lead, no inclusion of criticism from Hillary Rodham Clinton. No more of the attacks the McCain camp has been bombarding the Democratic convention with all week. In "Convention Night,"...

McCain To Release 'Historic' Ad Prior To Obama's Invesco Address

John McCain is determined to steal some of the attention away from Barack Obama when the Democratic nominee speaks tonight at Invesco Stadium. The camp is planning on releasing an ad later today that shows McCain speaking directly to the...

McCain Tags Obama On Dems' National Security Night

John McCain's camp is keeping a close eye on the Democratic convention schedule, coordinating its attack ads with speakers and topics. Tonight’s convention focus is national security, and McCain’s new spot hits Barack Obama where it may hurt the most:...

Obama Reacts To Ayers Attack

Efforts by a third-party organization to tie Barack Obama to the leader of a home-grown terrorist group are being met with stiff opposition from the Obama camp, perhaps demonstrating that Democrats learned their lesson in 2004. Four years ago, John...

Vets Press Obama On Surge

Anti-war protesters plan to make their voices heard in Denver and St. Paul over the coming days, but one third-party organization is taking a different message to the airwaves during the parties' national conventions. Vets For Freedom, a group of...

Third-Party Makes Western Push For Obama

Barack Obama has discouraged left-leaning third-party groups from getting involved in this year's ad wars. But California-based PowerPAC is going on air today with a new TV spot in New Mexico that targets Latino voters. "What Matters" (subscription) portrays Obama...

MoveOn.org Berates N.C.'s Dole In First '08 Senate Ad

MoveOn.org unveiled its first Senate ad of this election cycle on Tuesday, targeting Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., as well as John McCain, for their ties to Big Oil. The half-million dollar buy begins airing throughout North Carolina today. In "Pocket"...

McCain Issues Warning On Obama's Tax Plan

In an effort to quell criticism, Barack Obama released more details of his tax plan on Thursday. But John McCain signaled this morning that he has no intention of letting up in his effort to portray Obama as a "job-killing"...

Vets For McCain?

As Barack Obama catches heat for "refining" his stance on Iraq, a veterans group has launched a new ad toeing the John McCain line on the war. While the ad does not mention either of the presidential candidates by name,...

The Power Of 'Words'

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words... can get you in a pretty big mess too. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain is up with a new Web ad today that attacks Democratic rival Barack Obama for his...

Who's Hitting Home?

The cold war between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton flared into outright hostility this week over the credibility of each campaign's advertising in Pennsylvania. But while the candidates and their surrogates clash over who misrepresented what, research suggests that...