New Dem Ad Attacks GOP Commercial
The CBS News Political Unit is tracking the latest campaign commercials. Candice Berry analyzes a new Democratic ad that attacks a GOP commercial that praised the Bush prescription drug plan.
The Ad: The Democratic National Committee has released a new prescription drug ad that capitalizes on unfavorable media reviews of a Republican National Committee ad touting George W. Bush's prescription drug plan. The 30-second ad titled Returns spotlights charges by the New York Times that the Bush ad is inaccurate and lacks real substance. Returns replaces a DNC prescription drug ad released earlier this week. It will air in the following 10 states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, the state of Washington, Maryland, Delaware and Wisconsin.
Audio: Announcer: The new prescription drug ad for George Bush... The New York Times says its accuracy is 'zero.' Bush has "no specific plan.' And the approach he favors provides no prescription drug benefit for half of all seniors without coverage today. Bush leaves out middle class seniors without coverage today. Bush leaves out middle class seniors and takes no action to slow the rising cost of prescription drugs. Al Gore - a detailed plan to reduce costs and provide coverage for every senior through Medicare. Bush sides with drug companies. Gore's plan helps all seniors.
Visual: The ad begins with a picture of Bush enclosed in a mock television screen, juxtaposed a magnified quote from the New York Times. The quote points to charges leveled by the paper that the RNC ad promoting Bush's prescription drug plan is false since Bush has no plan to date. The words accuracy and zero are circled in red to bring emphasis to the charges. The remaining narration is underscored by various images of senior citizens and a few shots of Gore speaking in his typical townhall meeting style.
Fact check: There are no inaccuracies. The DNC ad mirrors charges leveled by the Times that Bush has no prescription drug benefit plan. However, the Bush campaign says it will release a detailed plan in the coming days, and that the plan will provide low-income seniors with prescription drug coverage. Additionally, the RNC claims that Gore's prescription drug plan will automatically deduct money from Social Security checks.
The Strategy: The Times' critical review of the GOP ad is a stroke of good fortune for the Gore campaign. Since the Democratic convention, Gore has made it a point to disclose the details of his proposals. And he has relentlessly hammered Bush for not doing the same on a number of issues - particularly prescription drugs. Additionally, the prescription drug debate illustrates Gore's growing campaign advantage. In the past, Bush has had better success at dominating public discussion of the issues. However, this week Gore put crimp in Bush's education tour by forcing him to spend time explaining his position on prescription drugs.