Coleman Acknowledges 'hard Times' In New Ad

(The Politico) 
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) is up with a new television ad that is one of the more sobering advertisements from a Republican incumbent this election cycle.

Entitled “Hard Times,” the ad shows Coleman expressing empathy for the economic hardships facing Minnesota families, while reciting a laundry list of his legislative accomplishments.

‘These are hard times, there’s no question about that. You go to a service station and you fill it up and I think you’re holding your breath,” Coleman says in the ad. “Folks are worried about jobs, cost of food, cost of energy, cost of kids’ education.”

The ad is a tangible acknowledgment of polling numbers across the country showing the vast majority of Americans viewing the country being on the “wrong track.” (A June LA Times/Bloomberg poll showed 78 percent of respondents saying the country was headed in the wrong direction.)

As a result, many voters – as measured in the generic ballot tests -- have taken out their frustrations on the Republican party. This ad is an attempt for Coleman, running in the Democratic-leaning state of Minnesota, to acknowledge the public's dissatisfaction while touting his own achievements.

Coleman's Democratic opponent, comedian Al Franken has been attacking Coleman for his close association with President Bush and support for the Iraq war.
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