DNC Hammers Dubya On Health Care

Gore Seeks To Keep The Heat On His GOP Rival's Record

(CBS)  The CBS News Political Unit is tracking the latest campaign commercials. Candice Berry looks at a DNC ad - released on the heels of George W. Bush's Medicare plan - that attacks the governor's health care record in Texas.

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The Ad:
The Democratic National Committee takes aim at Bush's Texas health care record with a new ad titled Judge. The 30 second spot, released the same day Bush unveiled his Medicare prescription drug plan, spotlights Texas' standing as second worst in the nation in the number of uninsured children. The ad is scheduled to air Thursday in the following nine key electoral states: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Delaware, Washington, Louisiana, and Missouri.

Audio:
Narrator: "George Bush says he has a plan to improve children's health care. But why hasn't he done it in Texas? Texas ranks 49th out of 50th in providing health coverage to kids. It's so bad, a federal judge just ruled Texas must take immediate 'corrective action.' The judge's findings: Bush's administration broke a promise to improve health care for kids. Texas failed to inform families of health coverage available to a million children. Bush's record - it's becoming an issue."

Visuals:
The ad begins with a screen-sized picture of Bush - the GOP presidential candidate - woefully looking downward, as the narrator recounts Texas' below standard record on providing health care to needy, low-income children. Subsequent scenes provide glimpses of the children reportedly neglected by Governor Bush. The ad then shows a magnified headline from the New York Daily News, "Texas Kids Robbed of Benefits," to verify the ad's claims. Judge concludes with another sorrowful image of Bush, possibly meant to lament his health care record as governor.

Fact Check:
The content of the ad is accurate. Texas has the second largest number of uninsured children in the country - 1.4 million. And although Texas no longer ranks worst in the country, the Lone Star State now has more uninsured children than it did in 1995 when Bush assumed office. The Bush camp contends that CHIP has only been available for about three years and Texas, like several other states, is still in the initial stages of implementing the program.

Strategy:
The concluding line of this ad, "Bush's record. It's becoming an issue. reveals the strategy behind Judge. The goal of the DNC and Gore's campaign is to make Bush's record on children's health care a dominant campaign issue, thus diminishing his credibility as a candidate capable of providing health care coverage to the millions of Americans without coverage. Therefore, it is no surprise Judge was released on the same day the Bush campaign unveiled its Medicare prescription drug plan. Judge is part of an aggressive ad campaign launhed by Gore last week to keep the issue of health care at the forefront. The Gore camp hopes that by hammering Bush with his Texas record on health care, they can maintain Gore's lead among voters as the candidate most qualified to manage the nation's health care programs.