DNC's Ad Mocks Bush Over News Conference

The Democratic National Committee is trying to hang President Bush with his own words -- and pauses.

A mocking ad posted on the party's Web site yesterday uses footage of Bush struggling at Tuesday's news conference to answer a question from Time magazine's John Dickerson on what has been his biggest mistake in office.

"Hmm. I wish you had given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it," the president is shown saying, slowly. "You know I just, uh, I'm sure something will pop into my head here, in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn't yet. . . . You just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be on coming up with one."

Some suggested mistakes fill the screen: "Mission accomplished." "We found the weapons of mass destruction." "Bring 'em on." The tag line: "Credibility is on the ballot this November."

Terry Holt, Bush's campaign spokesman, said: "The biggest mistake in this election so far is that Kerry's had no serious policy for winning the war on terror. . . . The Democrats simply don't understand the threat we face." Asked about Bush's hesitation at the news conference, Holt said the president had offered "thoughtful responses to questions."

But DNC spokesman Jano Cabrera said the ad captures "a pivotal moment in Bush's presidency."

"We intend to remind voters that Bush has a credibility problem on a host of issues," he said.

The footage would seem to provide irresistible ammunition for a television ad, but a party official who insisted he could not be named if discussing strategy said that would not happen for two reasons. The committee could run into copyright problems by airing CNN footage of the news conference, and Kerry's presidential campaign has signaled that it wants the party to hold off on advertising for now.

Although the DNC has set aside several million dollars for ads, this official said, the Kerry camp believes it would be a waste to start spending now while the president is on the defensive over Iraq and the Sept. 11, 2001, commission hearings.

Internet ads, which cost little to produce, have become a way for both sides to draw free media coverage without, for example, the $50 million cost of the Bush campaign's television spots so far. The Republican National Committee did an Austin Powers-style spoof of Kerry as an "International Man of Mystery," while Kerry's Web site this week posted a cartoon illustrating the "misery index" under the Bush administration.