New Ad Makes Case That Whitman = Schwarzenegger

California Democrat Jerry Brown's gubernatorial campaign released a new ad Tuesday that uses sound bites to make the case that Republican opponent Meg Whitman is identical to the current Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In the ad, a series of clips show Whitman using similar or identical phrases to Schwarzenegger.

Among the phrases used by both politicians in the commercial are "We do not have a revenue problem...we have a spending problem" and comments about rebuilding California. Perhaps the most striking is the last clip, in which both Whitman and Schwarzenegger as shown saying, "What's the worst that could happen?"

The commercial concludes with two quotes from the San Jose Mercury News: "We tried that, it didn't work" and "She utterly lacks the qualifications to be Governor," taken from the Oct. 10, 2010 edition of the newspaper.

A representative for Whitman's campaign, Andrea Jones Rivera, responded to the ad in a statement.

"Comparing Meg's experience as one of the world's most successful business leaders to Arnold Schwarzenegger's career as an actor is a false equivalency," she said.

The ad is only the latest jab in a heated California campaign that has seen both sides playing tough. An audio file was discovered in early October in which Brown, or a member of his staff, was quoted as calling Whitman a "whore," and Whitman has most recently come under fire for her treatment of her former housekeeper, an illegal immigrant.

Whitman and Brown clash frequently on economic issues. California faces some of the toughest fiscal problems in the country, and currently faces a $19 billion deficit.

Brown previously served two terms as California governor, from 1975 to 1983. A former chief executive of eBay.com, this is Whitman's first run for public office.