Hillary
The CBS News Political Unit is tracking the latest campaign commercials. Francesca Gessner analyzes two new New York Senate race campaign ads from Hillary Clinton that embrace the carpetbagger charge against her.
The Ads:size>color>
NY Democratic Senate candidate Hillary Clinton has released two new TV ads featuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr. whose father, the late Robert Kennedy, ran successfully for the U.S. Senate from New York in 1964 as a carpetbagger candidate. In the ads titled Proud and Protect, RFK Jr. refutes the carpetbagger attacks that have been launched at Hillary by saying, "It is against everything we stand for as a state to say that you can't participate in public life in this state because you weren't born here." Proud is running downstate while a slightly different version, Protect, is running upstate.
Audio:size>color>
Proud: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: New Yorkers comes from everywhere ... the best people from all over the country and every walk of life, gravitate towards New York. We produce the leaders that have articulated a vision for America ... of a community of all kinds of different people who go together because we share a value. It is against everything we stand for as a state to say that you can't participate in public life in this state because you weren't born here. We should be proud in our state that we've gotten somebody of the quality, the timber, and character of Hillary Clinton.
Protect: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: New Yorkers come from everywhere ... we produce the leaders that have articulated a vision for America ... Of all kinds of different people who go together because we share a value. People know what Hillary Clinton stands for. She stands for protecting children, protecting healthcare, and protecting the environment. It is against everything we stand for to say that you can't participate in public life in this state because you weren't born here. We should be proud in our state that we've gotten somebody of the quality, the timber, and character of Hillary Clinton.
Visual:size>color>
The ads open with RFK Jr. standing at a podium with Hillary Clinton and then cut to Hillary shaking hands and talking with people. This is followed by shots of a child, Hillary in a pizza parlor, and a father holding his son. We then see Hillary walking with Bobby Kennedy, followed by Hillary sitting at a table with people and a shot of an older man and an older woman. The ad concludes with a final shot of Hillary alone.
Fact Check:size>color>
No inaccuracies.
The Strategy:size>color>
These ads aim to defend Hillary Clinton gainst carpetbagger charges through the son of New York’s most famous - and successful - carpetbagger Senate candidate: the late Robert Kennedy. The ads seek to turn the negative connotations of the carpetbagger label into a positive source of pride for New Yorkers, as Kennedy says, "The best people from all over the country and every walk of life, gravitate towards New York."
In a letter made public the same day the ads were released, New York’s Republican Gov. George Pataki took an opposing view: "Heaven knows we can't afford to have an opportunistic carpetbagger like Hillary Clinton representing New York." Not only do the Kennedy ads take on the carpetbagger label, Kennedy’s closing line emphasizing Hillary’s “quality, timber and character,” responds to Rick Lazio’s repeated attacks on Clinton’s integrity.
The RFK Jr. ads were released on the heels of Clinton’s appearances last week in Buffalo with Kennedy’s uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy. The Kennedy-themed campaigning reflects an attempt by Clinton to lure ethnic Catholics, a key voting bloc in New York who are currently leaning towards Rick Lazio.