Candidates' TV ads fill selected screens
In the post-Thanksgiving stretch, presidential candidates started airing a raft of new television ads yesterday.
Republican Mike Huckabee aims squarely for the support of evangelical Christians in his new spot in Iowa, where a recent surge has put him in a close second place. "Faith doesn't just influence me, it really defines me," says the former Arkansas governor and ordained minister.
GOP rival John McCain reverts to his maverick past in an ad running in New Hampshire, bragging about making lots of people in Washington angry, including defense contractors, lobbyists, and his own colleagues. "I didn't go to Washington to win the Mr. Congeniality award," McCain says in the ad.
Republican Mitt Romney pledges to take charge to stem illegal immigration in a new TV ad that will air in Iowa and New Hampshire. The spot points out that Romney, while governor of Massachusetts, opposed driver's licenses and in-state tuition for illegal immigrants and pushed for English in the classroom. Then as Romney is pictured rolling up his sleeves, the ad says he will bring a no-nonsense, corporate-style approach to a problem that has vexed politicians of both parties: "Take charge. Demand results. No excuses."
Democrat John Edwards reminds South Carolina voters that his father was a mill worker and urges Iowa Democrats not to become the first generation to leave a worse life for their children. Edwards, who was born in Seneca, S.C., and grew up in Robbins, N.C., says, "When the mills closed, I saw firsthand how devastating bad government and corporate greed can be. I'm running for president to do what I've always done - fight for people like the ones I grew up with against the powerful forces that have corrupted Washington."
FOON RHEE
Giuliani on diplomacy
BEDFORD, N.H. — Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani usually limits his remarks about foreign policy matters in his basic stump speech, but yesterday he offered a more expansive view of the role of diplomacy while extolling the virtues of America’s political and economic systems.
‘‘We have to do a better job of explaining ourselves,’’ Giuliani told a group of mostly business leaders at the latest in a series of ‘‘Politics and Eggs’’ breakfasts featuring presidential candidates. ‘‘Maybe sometimes we are too short. Maybe sometimes we are too arrogant . . . . Sometimes we even assume people understand our wonderful motives . . . . Sometimes you’ve got to explain it to them.’’
The former New York City mayor said that if he is elected, his approach to foreign policy will be to ‘‘Speak softly and carry a big stick,’’ the motto of another New York Republican, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president.
BRIAN C. MOONEY
Ex-GOP chief backs Giuliani Rudy Giuliani reached into Mitt Romney’s backyard yesterday for another endorsement — Jim Rappaport, former chairman of the Massachusetts GOP.
‘‘Mayor Giuliani has a strong record of cutting taxes, controlling wasteful spending, and improving the quality of life for citizens of New York,’’ Rappaport said in a statement. Rappaport joins former Massachusetts governor Paul Cellucci and former state treasurer Joe Malone in Giuliani’s corner.
In response, the Romney campaign pointed out that he has been endorsed by another former governor, Bill Weld; most Republican legislators, and nearly half of Republican State Committee members.
Romney clashed with Rappaport and supported Kerry Healey over Rappaport in the 2002 Republican primary for lieutenant governor. The Romney camp also pointed out that in December 2005, Rappaport paid a $60,000 fine for campaign finance violations for failing to disclose more than $500,000 of the $3 million he spent in his bid for lieutenant governor.
FOON RHEE
Oprah to stump for Obama
Oprah Winfrey, one of the country’s biggest rainmakers, will stump for her pal Barack Obama next month in three critical early-voting states, Obama’s campaign announced yesterday.
The talk-show maven and fellow Chicagoan will appear with Obama in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Dec. 8, and then in Columbia, S.C., and Manchester, N.H., on Dec. 9.
Most endorsements in the presidential race induce little more than a yawn, but this one, given Winfrey’s popularity, could help generate excitement for Obama among women voters.
SCOTT HELMAN
Back-to-back debates
ABC News and Facebook announced yesterday that they will join forces during the presidential campaign - and that one of their first major ventures will be back-to-back debates three days before the New Hampshire primary.
The partnership will combine the technology of the social networking site with ABC's coverage, which will be directly posted to Facebook, whose 55 million members will be able to discuss the campaign through a new Debate Groups tool.
The collaboration will be in play for the Jan. 5 debates being sponsored by ABC and WMUR at Saint Anselm College.
FOON RHEE 