Ad blitz links Obama, Wright

Millions spent in race's final days

WASHINGTON - Pennsylvania Republicans and an independent group called the National Republican Trust have blitzed the television airwaves in recent days with ads that link Barack Obama with his controversial former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., in a last-minute effort to turn voters against the Democratic presidential nominee.

Both ads show Wright making inflammatory statements such as "Not God bless America, God damn America!" and calling the country the "US of KKKA." Obama was once close to Wright, considering him a spiritual mentor and the man who brought him to embrace Christianity, but Obama broke off the relationship in April after Wright continued making controversial statements. Obama condemned Wright's words as "appalling."

An Obama spokesman said the campaign would not issue a response to the ads.

John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, rejected suggestions by some aides and even running mate Sarah Palin to make an issue out of Wright. McCain reportedly feared such an attack would be perceived to have racial overtones.

McCain spokesman Ben Porritt said yesterday that the Arizona senator "has been clear that our campaign will not use Reverend Wright in advertising. Our campaign will win on the issues."

But Porritt said McCain would not try to stop the Pennsylvania GOP and the National Republican Trust political action committee from airing the Wright ads, saying McCain "is not going to be the traffic cop for every independent organization, state party, or state-level candidate that chooses to use these in advertising."

The National Republican Trust has made enormous advertising buys to put the ad on several national television networks in the final days of the campaign. The group spent $1.2 million on Thursday and $2.5 million more on Friday.

Its ad, which was running frequently on CNN yesterday, questions Obama's judgment and asserts that he never complained about Wright's statements for 20 years - until he started running for president. "Barack Obama, too radical, too risky," the announcer concludes.

The group's leader, Scott Wheeler, said yesterday that his group is running the ad about Wright because "we thought we would look at what would affect most people. I think most people had no idea how close Wright and Obama were."

Wheeler said he knew McCain "was going to shy away from it but I think it is very important for people to know."

Wheeler, who said he has had no coordination with the McCain campaign or the Republican Party, said in a telephone interview that he is a former journalist who had written articles critical of former president Clinton. The group's website solicits donations with a plea that says, "One of the most radical political figures ever to be nominated by a major party is just minutes away from becoming President of the United States." The group expects to raise $8.5 million this year and spend about $7 million on advertisements, including the commercial about Wright.

The ad by the Pennsylvania GOP is running in a state that is widely considered one of the most important battlegrounds. Robert Gleason, Jr., the chairman of the state party, said it believed the Wright issue has not received enough attention.

"When Pennsylvanians vote for a president, they should have a full picture of a candidate's character, including the people they chose to intimately align themselves with for many years," Gleason said in a statement.