Dems Push Education Accountability

(CBS)  The CBS News Political Unit is tracking the latest campaign commercials. Candice Berry analyzes a new Democratic National Committee ad that highlights Al Gore's stance on education reform.

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The Ad: The DNC has released an ad reinforcing Al Gore's formula for fixing ailing public schools and making college education more affordable. The ad is titled Accountability, a word used profusely by both candidates to describe their different approaches to education reform. The 30-second spot airs in the following 17 key electoral states: Missouri, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Delaware, Oregon, Ohio, Iowa, New Mexico, Kentucky, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maine and New Hampshire.

Audio: Gore: George Bush and I actually agree on accountability in education.
Announcer: The Gore plan begins with accountability.
Gore: We need smaller class sizes and better trained teachers.
Announcer: 100,000 teacher to lower class size, increase discipline and learning.
Gore: We need help for middle class families to pay college tuition by making it tax deductible.
Announcer: We are making education the number one priority.

Visual: The ad begins with Al Gore heralding the benefits of his education agenda before a gymnasium full of high school students and teachers. The following scenes illustrate the tenets of the Gore education reform plan: the raised hands of enthusiastic elementary students, a high school teacher giving individual instruction and parents taking time to talk to their kids about education. The ad ends with images of Gore standing with running mate Joseph Lieberman rallying their message in a high school gymnasium.

Fact check: The content of this ad is basically consistent with Al Goreƒ­s previous statements on education. Yet, the concluding line of the ad "...making education the number one priority," may draw some criticism from the Bush camp, which has accused Gore of having several competing number one priorities over the course of the campaign.

The Strategy: How each candidate will hold public schools accountable for failing performance is one of the main points of contention in this presidential race. Education is a cornerstone of the Bush campaign, and Bush has been running even with Gore on the issue, an unusual accomplishment for a Republican. This ad is an obvious attempt by the Gore campaign to fully claim education reform as their own, which is crucial because of the importance the issue holds with married women with children, a key group for both campaigns.