It may not be a trend, but Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are making their second appearance in as many weeks in a campaign ad. Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.) is crying foul after his Republican challenger used the two villains in a television spot that, the senator said, portrays him as soft on national defense.
The ad says that Cleland does not have the "courage to lead" at a time when "America faces terrorists and extremist dictators." The evidence? Cleland voted against the president's version of the still-pending Homeland Security agency 11 times.
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Such ads have been relatively rare this election season, but in South Dakota, GOP Rep. John Thune's campaign mentioned al Qaeda and the Iraqi leader in a spot castigating his opponent, Sen. Tim Johnson (D), for voting against plans to develop a missile defense system.
Cleland, a decorated war veteran who lost three limbs in the Vietnam War, blasted the ad, accusing his GOP rival, Rep. C. Saxby Chambliss, of trying to wrest political advantage from the war on terrorism and the impending conflict with Iraq. "Accusing me of being soft on Homeland Security and Osama bin Laden is the most vicious exploitation of a national tragedy and attempt at character assassination I have ever witnessed," the senator said in a statement.
Chambliss defended the ad, arguing that Cleland'svotes on the proposed agency are legitimate campaign issues. "While Max Cleland did honorably serve our country in Vietnam, this election is not about his unquestioned patriotism or his military record," Chambliss said. "It has everything to do with his voting record in the United States Senate."
Tables Turned in Florida
Another trend? Incumbents trying to pick their challengers. Democratic ad maker David Doak says he was "obsessed" with the idea that his guerrilla tactics could be used against him.
After his negative ads helped California Gov. Gray Davis knock out Republican Richard Riordan during the GOP gubernatorial primary, Doak worried that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) might borrow the idea to knock out the Democratic primary candidate who he figured would be his strongest rival in that general election. And that's just what happened.
Even as Doak's candidate, attorney Bill McBride, was struggling in the Democratic primary against former attorney general Janet Reno, Doak taped a response ad and put it in the can.
Months later, when Bush began airing anti-McBride ads during the Democratic contest, voters quickly saw McBride respond on the air: "You're probably wondering why Governor Bush is running ads against me now. . . . I think it's because he knows I'd be the toughest Democrat to beat."
McBride survived the primary, but Bush is heavily outspending him on the airwaves.
Staff writer Howard Kurtz contributed to this report.
