Presidential Ad Wars Heat Up

Obama's ads play up his theme that he can rise above the partisan divisions of the past. In a new spot yesterday addressing "decades of division and deadlock," he says: "Every time I speak about my hope for America, the cynics in Washington roll their eyes."

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Obama's earlier ads feature brief clips from his speech to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, in which he said that there is only one "United States of America" and that he is his "brother's keeper."

In the new spot, Obama portrays Clinton as "part of the establishment," Iyengar said. "She plays according to the old rules. He's putting himself forward as someone who's going to change the rules. If that doesn't sell, he's doomed."

Facing criticism that he is too inexperienced for the Oval Office, Obama also showcases his early resume. One spot traces his career from Chicago community organizer to Harvard law student to civil rights champion leading a voter-registration drive, an obvious nod to black voters he hopes will help propel him to the Democratic nomination. Another features a Republican and a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate praising his skills as a state legislator.

Clinton stirred controversy with her first ad, charging that struggling families, single mothers and veterans are "invisible" to President Bush. In subsequent spots, she has been trying to marry her perceived strength, Washington experience, with a change agenda.

After reciting a list that includes ending the war, giving "health coverage to everyone" and making the country "energy independent," the narrator of one ad says: "If we have the will, she has the strength. If we have the conviction, she has the experience."

That approach -- challenging voters to back Clinton -- appears tied to the groundbreaking nature of the most serious presidential candidacy ever undertaken by a woman. "It's kind of subliminal, in the sense that gender underlies the ad in pushing people to make a historic move in electing a female president," said Darrell West, a Brown University professor who studies advertising.

Edwards has aired one ad in which ordinary people demand an end to the war, and another featuring his call to "lift families out of poverty." But the most striking spot features the woman who has become his most prominent spokesperson.

Elizabeth Edwards says she is "blessed to be married to the most optimistic person that I have ever met. But at the same time, he has an unbelievable toughness." She then appears to allude to her own battle with incurable cancer, suggesting that her husband would bring the same fortitude to policy battles. "It's unbelievably important that in our president we have someone who can stare the worst in the face and not blink."