Just days after expanding her paid media effort into Oregon, Hillary Rodham Clinton is on the air in West Virginia with a slightly tweaked version of a populist economic spot (subscription) that first aired in South Carolina. In "Falling Through," Clinton speaks to voters' sense of economic anxiety, comparing the Bush economy to a trapdoor and promising "to be a president who stands up for all of you."

"Falling Through" joins advertising from Barack Obama already on air in West Virginia, where Democratic voters will head to the polls on May 13. What limited statewide polling is available shows signs that Clinton already enjoys a sizable lead in the Mountain State, but given the proportional allotment of delegates under Democratic Party rules -- not to mention the volatility of the race so far -- it's been in both candidates' interests to invest even in states they could be assumed to safely carry.

Click here to watch "Cost."

So far, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have held off running negative ads against each other in North Carolina and Indiana. Apparently, they prefer to save their attacks for oil companies, which are taking a beating from both sides as gas prices continue their ascent into record territory.

This weekend, Clinton released "Cost" in both states, criticizing oil companies in some of the harshest terms of the campaign and promising tough leadership to help working families at the pump. Among the proposals the ad mentions: "Take some of the windfall profits of Big Oil to pay to suspend the gas tax this summer" (the so-called "gas-tax holiday" was first proposed by John McCain); investigate energy companies for "price gouging and collusion"; and make them "invest in new clean energy sources."

By promising to alleviate high gas prices, the ad presents Clinton as a problem-solver who would make a real difference in people's lives and furthers the message of Clinton's other spots in North Carolina and Indiana, which have focused more on the economy than any other issue. That's not to say Clinton's media team has completely stopped needling the competition. The new spot's closing line -- "With gas this expensive, talk is cheap. We need leadership." -- sounds a lot like her camp's earlier efforts to paint Obama as all talk and no action.

Click here to watch "Better Off?"

More outside help arrived for the Democratic presidential candidates today as another group -- this time the Democratic National Committee -- stepped in to challenge John McCain on the airwaves while Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton play out their slow-motion primary showdown. The new spot is the fourth in the past week and a half to target McCain, joining earlier buys from the Ohio Democratic Party and two advocacy groups.

The DNC's first ad (subscription) of the election, which begins airing today on national cable networks, uses footage of McCain from a Jan. 30 Republican debate to suggest he's out of touch with the economic anxieties of ordinary Americans. Contrasting McCain's comment that "Americans overall are better off" than they were eight years ago with grim statistics on inflation and gas prices, the ad concludes with an announcer asking viewers, "Do you feel better off?"

Days before the ad hit the airwaves, it was already under attack from Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan, who issued a statement on Sunday saying the spot "recklessly distorts John McCain's statements." But while the ad selectively edits McCain's answer, leaving out his acknowledgment that "things are tough right now," that hardly makes it atypical in the world of modern political advertising. As AP noted on Monday, "This type of selective quoting has become commonplace."

Click here to listen to "More Of The Same."

Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton aren't the only ones facing negative advertising this week; tomorrow, the Ohio Democratic Party will greet John McCain with a new radio ad airing in the Youngstown area, where the Arizona senator will be arriving to continue his tour of the "forgotten places in America."

"More Of The Same," which ODP calls its first of the general election, challenges McCain on the very issue he'll be promoting in Ohio: the economy. "After months of ignoring Americans' worries about the economy, John McCain is trying to make up for his mistake by making lots of big promises," an announcer says, going on to accuse McCain of opposing overtime pay and promoting policies that would result in "more homes foreclosed on, more American jobs shipped overseas."

Besides attacking McCain on a sensitive topic, the ad chips away at his image as a political "maverick," calling attention to his "25 years in Washington" and tying him to the policies of the current president. "The more you learn, the more you see he's just more of the same," an announcer charges. That line echoes ongoing efforts at the national level by Democrats and outside groups to tie McCain to President Bush, particularly on economics.

Given the contours of the last two presidential elections and the fact that the Youngstown media market borders Pennsylvania, another likely swing state, it seems a safe bet that this buy is only the first of many that will bombard local listeners this general election season.

Click here to watch "Management."

On the campaign trail, taking the moral high ground can sometimes mean ending up in an uncomfortable place. North Carolina Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat running for governor, is being reminded of that lesson after extending an olive branch last week to her primary opponent, state Treasurer Richard Moore, by pulling all her negative advertising off the air and asking third-party groups to do the same.

It didn't take long for Moore to dismiss the move as a political gimmick, and on Monday his campaign kept the pressure up with a new attack ad (subscription) blasting Perdue as a poor business manager, ill-prepared to run the state. About half of the 30-second spot is devoted to criticizing Perdue; the other half praises Moore as a "trusted manager" and good steward of North Carolina's finances.

Moore has also hit Perdue for failing to rein in her surrogates -- in particular, two independent groups that this week sent out a mailer questioning Moore's performance as state treasurer. (Perdue has since reiterated her appeals for a positive campaign.) Although North Carolina voters tell pollsters they approve of Perdue's pledge, it looks as if partisans on both sides will make it a tough promise to keep.

Click here to watch "Closed."

While the Democratic ad war in Pennsylvania becomes increasingly embittered, the airwaves in Indiana and North Carolina -- the two primary contests after the Keystone State -- have remained notably free of internecine mudslinging.

Hillary Rodham Clinton's newest television spot, her second in Indiana after last week's endorsement ad from Sen. Evan Bayh, continues that trend by focusing criticism on President Bush and the effect of his policies on America's security and the state's economy.

Continue reading "Clinton's Indiana Twofer" »

Click here to watch "Ignite."

Coinciding with John McCain's heavily promoted economic speech yesterday, his campaign released a new television ad in Ohio and Pennsylvania. "Ignite" (subscription) distills McCain's economic proposals into a series of vague but uplifting slogans: "Taxes: simpler, fairer. Energy: cleaner, cheaper. Health care: portable and affordable."

In addition to buttressing McCain's economic credentials, the ad's presentation seems designed to remind viewers of McCain's "maverick" image by using high-energy production and post-partisan rhetoric that sounds as if it could have come from a Barack Obama speech. "McCain will take the best ideas from both parties," the ad says, promising "initiatives that will unite us" and "big ideas for serious problems."

"Ignite" is McCain's first paid media since the bio ad (subscription) he ran in New Mexico last month, but his campaign has proven adept at finding other ways to place him on television, including a savvy use of Web ads and publicity events. His advisers may have decided that wasn't enough in Pennsylvania and Ohio, however, where dozens of Democratic political ads have saturated the airwaves, giving McCain's eventual general election opponent a head start at reaching voters in those key swing states.

Click here to watch "The Promise" and "Real World."

While Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain gang up to paint Barack Obama as an "elitist," Kentucky Democrats Greg Fischer and Bruce Lunsford are employing a similar tack against incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell (R), portraying him as out of touch with his constituents in a pair of new spots.

In Fischer's first ad (subscription) of the campaign, he implicitly contrasts himself with McConnell by focusing on his own outsider status. "I really strongly believe that people are looking for somebody that's not part of the system, because the system's broken," Fischer says. He claims to have "created jobs and opportunities for thousands of people" and pledges to "fight for real change every day and restore the promise of Kentucky."

Continue reading "Dems Tag-Team McConnell" »

Click here to watch "It Won't."

If tensions between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama were on the rise in Pennsylvania last week, this weekend saw the pot boil over, as the two exchanged some of the most heated rhetoric of the campaign thus far over controversial comments made by Obama at a San Francisco fundraiser.

As Obama publicly scolded Clinton for her attacks on Sunday, Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey appeared on CNN to defend Obama, whom he has endorsed, against charges of elitism. Casey hits that same message in a new TV spot (subscription) released today, reaching out to blue-collar Keystone State voters by portraying Obama as a compassionate person who understands the challenges facing Pennsylvania.

Continue reading "Casey Goes To Bat For Obama" »

Click here to watch "Steel."

Hillary Rodham Clinton opened another front in the ad war today, joining rival Barack Obama on the air in Indiana with a new TV spot (subscription) featuring the endorsement of Evan Bayh, the state's junior senator and a frequently mentioned candidate to be Clinton's running mate.

In the ad, which consists almost entirely of Bayh speaking directly into the camera, the Indiana senator touts Clinton's toughness, particularly on the economy, and runs through a number of her campaign's key message points.

"We need a leader who'll fight for good jobs, change trade deals like NAFTA, cut taxes for middle-class families," he says. "Someone who's ready to be commander in chief from Day One." Bayh also notes the two decades he's known Clinton -- a personal touch that validates his judgment of Clinton's character while recalling her argument that she is the most experienced Democrat in the presidential race.

Clinton has used a similar advertising strategy in previous contests: Her campaign ran an ad (subscription) before the Ohio primary featuring the endorsement of former Sen. John Glenn. But the newest spot's no-frills approach and praise for Clinton's "spine of steel" most recall a John McCain ad from December called "Backbone Of Steel" (subscription), in which major league pitcher Curt Schilling endorsed the Arizona senator.

Click here to watch "N.C. Ask Me."

"If you are looking for a typical political commercial, switch the channel," advises Hillary Rodham Clinton at the start of her first ad (subscription) in North Carolina, a minute-long TV spot debuting in the Tar Heel State today.

But while the ad, which asks viewers to send questions at www.NCAskMe.com, is a departure from the media strategy Clinton's used in recent primaries, its direct appeal looks a lot like the campaign's early series of conversational Web videos, as well as Clinton's personal appeals to Granite State voters during the dark days following Barack Obama's Iowa win.

Still, the statewide ad represents a significant investment for the Clinton campaign, which in March reportedly raised just half the campaign funds brought in by Obama that month. The Obama campaign has been on the air in North Carolina for a week already, putting the pressure on Clinton to divert media dollars from her ongoing Pennsylvania ads to avoid ceding the airwaves to her rival.

Continue reading "Clinton Media Goes Interactive" »

Barack Obama continues to expand his ad buys in Pennsylvania, releasing several TV spots that ran previously in other states. Taking advantage of his ability to outspend his opponent, Hillary Rodham Clinton, his camp is now running at least six different spots in the Keystone State. Here are the latest additions:

"Como Padre": a Spanish-language ad that emphasizes Obama's role as a father and his plans to help America's next generation. (Translated Script)

"For Decades": Placing the candidate in front of a run-down mill, the ad focuses on jobs and other blue-collar issues.

Click here to watch "Ready."

Call it the Swift Boat reflex. As an indication of the speed at which presidential contenders now feel compelled to respond to attacks, consider that it took less than six hours for John McCain to release a Web ad rebutting Hillary Rodham Clinton's latest TV spot in Pennsylvania, which portrays him as an unfit steward of the national economy.

Using the same footage as Clinton's ad -- with a shot of a steely-eyed McCain tacked on to the end -- "Ready" opens with the now-familiar line, "It's 3 a.m., and your children are safe and asleep." It then goes on to blast both Clinton and Barack Obama for their economic proposals, saying "they'd solve the problem by raising your taxes. More money out of your pocket. John McCain has a better plan: Grow jobs. Grow our economy, not grow Washington."

Continue reading "McCain Returns Clinton's Call" »

Click here to watch "Ringing."

Just when it looked as if Hillary Rodham Clinton would effectively cede Pennsylvania's airwaves to Barack Obama for another week, leaving surrogates to fight on her behalf, her campaign today announced the release of a new TV spot recalling the "3 a.m." ad (subscription) it ran in Texas last month.

Borrowing the imagery of that ad, which touted Clinton's readiness to be commander in chief during a national security emergency, "Ringing" (subscription) focuses instead on Clinton's economic acumen: "There's a phone ringing in the White House, and this time the crisis is economic."

Continue reading "It's 3 A.M. -- Again" »

Click here to listen to "Fighter."

Going into the Pennsylvania primary with a sizable lead but depleted coffers, Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign decided early on to forgo the strategy of expensive statewide ad buys it had used in previous contests in favor of niche advertising and grassroots organizing. With Clinton's funds still low, state polls tightening and Barack Obama having outspent her 5-to-1 in advertising, a pro-Clinton union has decided to supplement her efforts with an ad buy of its own.

The American Federation of Teachers on Monday released a radio spot (subscription) in markets across the state, touting Clinton's "solutions" to the country's economic problems and knocking Republican John McCain as "another George Bush." (It makes no mention of Obama.) The group has previously run ads supporting Clinton in Iowa, New Hampshire and other primary states, and has now invested about $2 million in media buys on her behalf.

Continue reading "Teachers Vouch For Clinton In Pennsylvania" »

With calls for Hillary Rodham Clinton to drop out of the Democratic primary race multiplying, Barack Obama refused to join the chorus this weekend. Instead, the Illinois senator focused on his plan for economic recovery during his campaign's "Road to Change" tour through Pennsylvania.

Indicating that he expects the campaign to continue at least into May, Obama has released new TV ads in the next three states to weigh in on the Democratic race -- Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina -- all focused on the failing economy and what Obama would do to help middle- and working-class Americans.

Continue reading "Obama In It For The Long Haul" »