October 31, 2006
Republicans Say They're Sorry
How nervous are GOPers, one week out? Just ask the candidates, at least 3 of whom are running new TV ads acknowledging the uphill challenges they face 11/7.
"People tell me, Linc, I really like you, but I want to send Bush a message," Sen. Lincoln Chafee admits in a new ad. "I've always stood for principle, even if it meant standing alone."
MN SEN candidate Mark Kennedy closes his new MN SEN ad on nat'l security by saying, "I approve this message, even though I know it may not be what you want to hear."
In OR GOV, Ron Saxton tries to dance toward his state's anti-GOP middle. "National politics are a mess, and I'm as angry as you are. But this election is about Oregon, and change," he says. "I'm a Republican, but I'll be with my party when it's right, and against it when it's wrong."
While many campaigns are closing dirty, these GOP ads in blue states take a different tack. Underdogs, they're pleading with voters to ignore nat'l dynamics and focus on the face on their TV screens. Will it succeed? Perhaps. But why is it voters don't get ads like this, which pitch the "honesty" value only when that candidate is trailing, perhaps, trailing badly?
Posted at 02:15 PM
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