GOP ad puts focus on terror
E-mailed pitch aims to energize party activists
WASHINGTON -- Forty-two years after Democrats ran one of the most controversial political ads of all time, showing a child picking daisies during a countdown to a nuclear explosion, the Republican Party yesterday released an advertisement featuring Al Qaeda leaders threatening harm to the United States amid dark footage of explosions, fires, and terrorists in action.
The ad, which is being e-mailed from the Republican National Committee to millions of GOP activists, is unusual both for the directness of its emotional appeal and for what some party leaders acknowledge that it represents: the need for the GOP to shift the national discussion to the party's perceived strength of national security before the midterm elections.
While the ad features a ticking clock -- similar to the countdown in the famous 1964 ``daisy" ad for President Lyndon Johnson -- some GOP leaders acknowledged that they, too, are facing a ticking clock. With just 2 1/2 weeks until the Nov. 7 elections, most national attention remains riveted on the sex scandal surrounding former representative Mark Foley, Republican of Florida, and on a recent upsurge in casualties in Iraq.
Charles Black , a veteran Republican strategist and adviser to the RNC, said the ad is designed to motivate Republican activists whose enthusiasm has dampened in recent weeks, as polls have shown Democrats gaining ground.
``The Democrats are more fired up than we are right now," Black said. ``We did a pretty good job in September in getting people motivated until the Foley thing broke. For our activists, we want to change the subject and get them back on what will get them motivated."
The subject of terrorism, Black said, will drive Republicans to knock on doors and turn out voters, and that could be crucial to GOP efforts to retain control of Congress. ``The difference between winning and losing here is Republicans turning out the vote," Black said.
Five years ago, shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the White House admonished television networks against using video messages from Osama bin Laden.
At the time President Bush's spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said: ``At best, Osama bin Laden's message is propaganda calling on people to kill Americans. At worst, he could be issuing orders to his followers to initiate such attacks."
Nonetheless, the new RNC ad shows video of bin Laden and his chief deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, threatening the United States with phrases such as ``kill the Americans" and saying that attacks so far are ``nothing compared to what you will see next."
The ad concludes with the words: ``These are the stakes. Vote Nov. 7," mirroring the 1964 Democratic commercial at the height of the Cold War, which showed a countdown and an explosion as President Johnson said, ``These are the stakes."
RNC spokesman Danny Diaz declined to say whether the RNC was aware of the White House's admonition to be careful in use of Al Qaeda propaganda. ``The images and the messages communicated in this video speak for themselves," he said. ``My understanding is all the images used in this are publicly available."
Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said the White House would not object to the ad. Perino said Fleischer's comment was made ``in the early days," and she noted that Bush himself has recently given speeches that quote ``the terrorists in their own words."
Analysts who have viewed the ad say it does its job: raising the level of fear of a terrorist attack, and framing the issue in a way that could benefit the Republicans.
``It's all about fear," said Stephen Ansolabehere , coauthor of ``Going Negative: How Political Advertisements Shrink & Polarize the Electorate." But negative ads often work, Ansolabehere said, adding, ``It is a very effective ad, graphically very powerful."
But Stacie Paxton , press secretary for the Democratic National Committee, called the ad ``a pathetic move by a pathetic GOP. They are right, there is a lot at stake, and Americans need to ask themselves if they can trust the GOP leadership, which has failed to keep us safe, when Osama bin Laden is still on the loose, Iraq is in the middle of a civil war, and North Korea is testing nuclear weapons. People are looking for leadership, not fear-mongering."
Democrats are running their own style of attack ads, with many candidates tying their Republican opponent to Bush and the Iraq war. Some Democrats run tickers on their websites, showing how much money has been spent on the war. Others regularly talk about the number of Americans killed and charge that Bush -- and, by association, their opponent -- has lied about the rationale for going to war.
In the Virginia race for the US Senate, in which Democrat James Webb is facing incumbent Republican Senator George Allen, the Democrats portray Allen as a Bush sycophant. An ad called ``Follower" criticizes Allen's stand in favor of the Iraq war and shows video of Allen saying: ``I very much agree with the president. . . . We need to stay the course."
With the midterm election less than three weeks away, polls show voters are increasingly dissatisfied. A Wall Street Journal-NBC poll released earlier this week found that only 16 percent of those surveyed approved of Congress, while 75 percent disapproved. An ABC News poll released last week found that Bush is doing poorly even on his signature issue of terrorism, with 53 percent of those surveyed disapproving of his handling of terrorism.
But GOP leaders still say voters have faith in their party's ability to prevent terrorist attacks. Indeed, in recent months, the White House has moved away from its stance that another terrorist attack is almost inevitable to touting its success in preventing any attacks since 2001. And Bush himself has tried to link his policies, including his domestic spying program, to the administration's success in preventing attacks.
Many Democrats say they support Bush's spying program -- though only with court approval -- but question whether the president violated the law in secretly authorizing the program. Bush has argued that he has acted within his authority as commander-in-chief.
``Time and time again, the Democrats want to have it both ways," Bush said earlier this month. ``They talk tough on terror, but when the votes are counted, their softer side comes out."
The president continued: ``If the people of the United States don't think we ought to be listening in on the conversations of people who could do harm to the United States, then go ahead and vote for the Democrats. If you want to make sure those on the front line of protecting you have the tools necessary to do so, you vote Republican, for the safety of the United States." 