New Kerry TV Advertisement Aims to Counter GOP Attacks
WASHINGTON — Seeking to counter Republican attacks, John F. Kerry will launch a television advertisement today depicting himself as a decorated Vietnam War veteran who plans to roll back tax cuts for the wealthy, expand access to healthcare and rejuvenate the economy.
Kerry's first biographical ad since he became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee will air in 17 states -- including Ohio, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona -- that both campaigns view as crucial to the general election's outcome. The commercial aims in part to introduce the Massachusetts senator to voters who did not follow the Democratic nominating contest.
The ad comes as President Bush and his GOP allies have intensified their assault on Kerry, criticizing him as a tax-raising liberal who is weak on defense. Kerry has denounced those attacks as misleading and is using the new ad in an attempt to frame his candidacy in his own terms.
"For 35 years, John Kerry has fought for his country," his ad announces as the screen flashes three images of him. In one, he is speaking with students. In another, he is in shirt and tie announcing his presidential candidacy last year in front of an aircraft carrier. And the central shot is of Kerry as a young Navy lieutenant toting a rifle in the jungles of Vietnam.
Kerry then says: "We need to get some things done in this country: affordable healthcare, rolling back tax cuts for the wealthy, really investing in our kids. That's why I'm running for president."
The ad touts Kerry's Vietnam-era resume, showing a still photograph of the young officer receiving a Silver Star for gallantry. "The military experience to defend America," a narrator says, an apparent reply to Bush campaign officials who contend that Kerry's Senate voting record shows he can't be trusted to guard the nation.
The ad's narrator adds that the Democrat has "a new plan to create jobs and put our economy back on track" -- an assertion made while footage shows Kerry talking to a worker in a hard hat.
The ad does not include any detailed examination of his healthcare initiative, estimated to cost about $900 billion over 10 years, or his proposal to rescind tax cuts for families who earn more than $200,000 a year.
Nor does the ad mention Bush by name, although it closes with a promise to launch "a new direction for America."
Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt said Kerry's ad could not paper over holes in his record.
- Kerry Is Donating $1 Million to the DNC Feb 10, 2005
- Bush Spot Fuels Ad Flurry, Attacks Kerry Mar 26, 2004
- Election Spending Put Millions in the Pockets of Private Firms Nov 07, 2004
