Giuliani: Take Me As I Am

The CBS News Political Unit is tracking the latest campaign commercials. Francesca Gessner analyzes a new ad from New York Senate hopeful Rudy Giuliani.

The Ad: A New York Senator is a 60-second Giuliani television ad running across New York State. This is the seventh television ad of Giuliani's still un-announced Senate campaign and represents his largest ad buy to date, costing upwards of $750,000.

Audio: Announcer: "The campaign for New York continues. Rudy Giuliani is bringing his record of success and integrity ... straight to the people of New York."

Rudy: "We should be for real. We should be honest with each other, and we should be for real and we should be authentic. I want to be senator because I was born in this state. I want to be senator because I've served this state. I have ideas that I believe work, that I've put into practice. You won't have to guess what I'm going to do when I'm sitting in Washington a year or two years from now or three years from now. You're going to be able to figure out what I'm going to do from what I've done. And you're going to figure out the things that I'm not going to do - from the things I refuse to do. And if you agree with me you can vote for me with great confidence. And if disagree with me you can vote against me with great confidence. And that's the way it should be when people honestly believe in democracy."

Announcer: "Rudy. We know where he stands - and what he can do."

Visual: The ad opens with a scene of upstate New York, dissolving to the town of Saratoga with the text "Saratoga, N.Y., April 28, 2000" across the screen. We then see Giuliani walk to the stage at a Saratoga Republican Women's Club event with the crowd cheering "Rudy, Rudy." Giuliani addresses the crowd from the podium, saying, "We should be for real." Next we see a lighthouse with a lake in the foreground, followed by a shot of the Erie County Municipal building with the "Rudy" logo superimposed. We then see a rower on a lake with the text "Created 380,000 New Jobs." Then a shot of a central New York State farm with the text "Cut Taxes $2.4 Billion. A 30-year record!" Next we see a boat on the Erie Canal, followed by a waterfall in the city of Rochester and the text "Made New York safest large city in America." Finally we return to the Saratoga Republican Women's event, where the ad concludes with Giuliani walking and shaking hands with the audience.

Fact check: No inaccuracies.

The Strategy: Though the ad does not once mention Giuliani's opponent, it indirectly targets Hillary Clinton on several levels. First, Giuliani's proclamation that he wants to be senator because he was born in New York alludes to Hillary Clinton's "carpetbagger" status. Second, the ad's focus on Giuliani's authenticity attempts to contrast his "sraight-talk" with what some see as Clinton's overly rehearsed and carefully crafted performances on the campaign trail. Moreover, the ad's emphasis on Giuliani's honesty implicitly suggests Clinton does not speak her true mind, thereby seeking to capitalize on Giuliani's "take me or leave me" candor. Finally, by exclusively featuring upstate New York, the ad helps Giuliani appear committed to a region where many say he has not spent enough time. In fact on the same day Giuliani released this ad, his rival Clinton announced she had completed visiting all 62 of New York State's counties.