Rudy's New Best Friend
The CBS News Political Unit is tracking the latest campaign commercials. Francesca Gessner analyzes a new ad by New York Senate hopeful Rudy Giuliani that attempts to exploit the popularity of fellow Republican John McCain.
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The Ad: The 30-second TV ad titled Integrity started running Thursday throughout New York state. This is the New York mayor's first Senate ad to air in New York City and its suburbs.
Audio:
Announcer: "Together they rode a bus... to spread a message of hope and humanity to the people of New York. One an authentic American hero dedicated to integrity and reform. The other an authentic New York Leader, ready to make a difference for an entire state... and, the nation. Both dedicated to replacing fear with optimism, intolerance with understanding, insincerity with truth. The New York campaign of Rudy Giuliani. Real leadership... for all New York."
Visual: The ad features footage of John McCain campaigning with Giuliani on Long Island earlier this week. The ad opens with a shot of a bus coming toward the camera, with the name of McCains presidential campaign bus written across the screen: The Straight Talk Express NY Times. We then see Giuliani seated with McCain inside the bus, having a discussion with the press. Next we see Giuliani with McCain at a town hall meeting at American Legion Post 694 in Long Island, with a close-up on McCain speaking to the audience and then shaking hands with Giuliani. The camera then focuses on Giuliani in shirt sleeves speaking to the audience, inter-cut with shots of American Legion veterans. The ad concludes with the American Legion crowd applauding Giuliani and McCain.
Fact Check: No inaccuracies.
The Strategy: Integrity reflects Giuliani's attempt to align himself with John McCain and thereby attract the same Independent and Democratic voters who flocked to McCain during the presidential primaries. During their joint appearance earlier this week, McCain described Giuliani as a "soul mate." The ad encourages voters to extend this association, and to link Giuliani to McCain's reform agenda.
Although Giuliani endorsed Bush during the primaries, many believe the Mayor has more to gain by aligning himself with McCain than with Bush, whose conservative credentials could estrange the Independents and Democrats Giuliani needs to win. Moreover, the fact that New York state is expected to go Democratic in the presidential contest gives Giuliani further reason to keep his distance from Bush and connect himself to McCain.
McCain's appearance with Giuliani came on the heels of several new polls showing the Mayor trailing Hillary Clinton in the aftermath of Giuliani's aggressive reaction to a police shooting of an unarmed black man. McCain, who has himself been criticized for a bad temper, said, "I dn't believe Rudy, like me, will be elected Miss Congeniality in the United States Senate." Thus, with Giuliani's temperament threatening to become a campaign liability, "the McCain connection" helps turn a potential negative into a positive symbol of maverick-like character.