Obama Gets Military Brass Backing In New Ad

In his latest ad running in Iowa, Democrat Barack Obama continues to combat the claim made by his rivals that he's too inexperienced to serve as president – but instead of doing it in his own words, he's got some military brass speaking on his behalf.

The ad, titled "Gulf," features retired Air Force Gen. Merrill A. McPeak, who also served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1990-94 – during the first Gulf War. He claims that Obama's consistent opposition to the current Iraq war shows that the Illinois senator is fit to be president. "Barack Obama opposed this war in Iraq from the start, showing insight and courage others did not," McPeak says. "And he's our best hope to restore our security and standing in today's world. The old Washington hands have let us down. We need a new leader to lift America."

There's little doubt which "old Washington hand" this ad is aimed at – the Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, whose vote to authorize the Iraq war, Obama argues, shows her claims of experience don't mean much. The ad isn't the only way Obama is making this argument. After all, his latest campaign swing through Iowa is titled the "Judgment and Experience Tour."