Ad War
by digby
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani criticized Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton in a full-page ad in Friday’s New York Times, accusing her of assailing Iraq war commander Gen. David Petraeus’ character.
In response, a liberal anti-war group is running a $50,000 ad campaign against Giuliani in Iowa, which begins the presidential nominating process. The television ad from MoveOn.org Political Action, which will start airing next week, accuses Giuliani of a “betrayal of trust” for abandoning the Iraq Study Group.
“Rudy Giuliani has become an uncritical cheerleader for George Bush’s war in Iraq,” said Eli Pariser, the group’s director. “Yet when he had the chance to actually do something about the war, he went AWOL.”
Giuliani joined the Iraq Study Group but only lasted two months, failing to show up for any official meetings. Newsday had reported that Giuliani was a no-show for two of the group’s meetings and instead attended paid public appearances.
Giuliani campaign spokeswoman Katie Levinson said Friday of the upcoming MoveOn ad: “Being attacked by the Democratic character assassination machine MoveOn.org is something Rudy Giuliani will wear as a badge of honor.”
It’s hard to see how even supine media will be able to keep themselves from snorting with laughter if the Republicans continue to wring their little lace hankies and clutch their pearls at the unseemly inappropriateness of Move-On’s terrible ads when they’ve got Hizzoner (and McCain too) out there playing tit-for-tat. It’s no longer about our handsome hero The Man Called Petraeus, or the military is it? It’s just politics now. Rudy misplayed this.
The Republicans will put on a good show.They always do. But it’s a comedy now that they’ve got the snarling beasts, Giuliani and McCain, out there pretending they are a couple of elderly spinsters offended by these ill-mannered hoodlums. Phony sanctimony just doesn’t work for those two grizzled dudes. Rudy especially looks like he’s having way too much fun. It’s like watching William Donohue on television pretending to be defending decency by blathering on about how Hollywood likes anal sex.
And there’s more to come in what’s now known as the “ad war.”
At the same time, MoveOn is readying a new TV ad accusing President Bush of a “betrayal of trust,” the same language the group is using against Giuliani.
The MoveOn TV ad argues that, despite plans to withdraw about 30,000 troops added to the U.S. military presence in Iraq earlier this year, Bush remains mired in the war.
“Now he’s making a big deal about, you guessed it, pulling out 30,000 troops,” the ad states. “So next year, there will still be 130,000 troops stuck in Iraq. George Bush. A betrayal of trust.”
The ad against Bush will run from Monday to Friday in Washington on cable and nationally on CNN. The group is spending $60,000 to run the anti-Bush spot.
That’s whatcha call spine.
.