Bush: Focus On Education

The CBS News Political Unit is tracking the political commercials of the presidential hopefuls. Jane Ruvelson analyzes the latest effort of Republican George W. Bush.

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The Ad: In one of five, 30-second ads released Tuesday in New Hampshire and Iowa, George W. Bush focuses on a central campaign theme: education. "Education" and its Iowa counterpart will run for several weeks.

Audio: Gov. Bush: "All right, let's go in."

New Hampshire local: "Welcome to the historic Bedford Town Hall."

Gov. Bush: "The people of New Hampshire join me in wanting to instill in our schools, character education. Values are important. I just came from West High School. If we find children stuck in failed schools, that's unacceptable. It's important to challenge the status quo. I'm going to ask the question, 'Are they learning?' and if they're not, we're going to free the parents so they can make other choices. You see, we trust parents to make the right decisions for their children."

Announcer: "The Bush Education Plan: Accountability, standards and a fresh start for America."

Visual: The commercial is filmed with a sometimes shaky documentary style, creating a less formal presentation than that of earlier Bush ads. The spot is made up of snippets from two New Hampshire campaign swings.

The commercial opens with Bush talking to supporters outside the Bedford, N.H. Town Hall. The candidate, dressed casually, moves to usher the group inside. The camera follows the group as they ascend the Town Hall steps; the image blurs. Inside the wood-paneled building, Bush is introduced, the screen reads "Governor George W. Bush. Bedford, New Hampshire."

As the commercial jumps through Bush's explanation of his education plan, the viewer sees him from varying vantage points, gesturing broadly and smiling warmly. The screen reads "character education," then "values." The ad cuts to the West High School candidate forum, with Bush speaking from a podium, high schoolers in the background. The screen reads "accountability," and later, in cuts from the town hall and candidate forum, "local control."

The commercial closes with a shot of Bush, standing in a crowd of waving students; the screen reads, "George W. Bush. A fresh start."

Fact Check: No inaccuracies.

The Strategy: This commercial deftly counters criticism that Bush has appeared too "programmed" and "stiff" at recent campaign events. As Bush presents his education plan with convincing earnestness, his personal warmth and commitment emerge; the long-absent "compassionate conservative" is finally here.

Bush's focus on education is also important. With it, he reaches out to mainstream voters who care about the issue, but still courts conservatives by higlighting character education, local control and accountability. Despite the fact that his state's SAT scores rank near the bottom of the pack, candidate Bush has emphasized education with three policy speeches and a spate of new proposals to reform the system.

Bush's closest competitor, Senator John McCain, who now leads Bush in New Hampshire polls by 9 points, has yet to put forth an education plan.