Bush carrier footage in Kerry Veterans Day ad
From John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
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Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, speaks to a group of veterans during a visit to the Iowa Veterans Home Monday.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Hoping to refocus voters on his military background, Sen. John Kerry chose Veterans Day to air a new TV ad in Iowa and New Hampshire that, for the first time in the Democratic primary campaign, features footage of President Bush during his May 1 speech aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.
The ad, which starts airing Tuesday in both early-vote states, opens with footage of Bush congratulating troops on the carrier as an announcer describes Kerry as "a leader on national security, a decorated combat veteran" who can take on Bush on national security issues with more credibility than his rivals.
"Who can take on George Bush and change the direction of the nation? John Kerry," the narrator says in the 30-second spot.
"Served on the Intelligence Committee... the Foreign Relations Committee...John Kerry. He's fighting for you -- against the Bush tax giveaways. For corporations and the wealthy. And his health care plan covers the uninsured and holds down costs."
Kerry's rivals said the ad was duplicitous. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's campaign manager, Joe Trippi, said the new ad does little to erase Kerry's vote last year in favor of authorizing military action in Iraq.
"John Kerry wants to question the war in Iraq now, but what's important is that he didn't question the war when it counted," Trippi said in a statement. "He voted to allow President Bush to rush America into this ill-advised war, and no amount of television commercials is going to erase that."
While he can claim credit for being the first Democrat to use footage of Bush aboard the carrier, Kerry notably stops short of directly criticizing Bush's May 1 speech, a line of attack the senator uses frequently in stump speeches.
Bush's speech aboard the carrier, once viewed by Republican strategists as a prominent feature in the president's re-election ad campaign, has instead become widely mocked by Democrats, who note that the "Mission Accomplished" banner was hardly accurate. Since May 1, more Americans have died in Iraq than those killed during the initial phases of the war.
Last month, at a news conference, Bush disavowed any connection with the war message, "Mission Accomplished." Later, the White House changed its story, saying the banner was the idea of a Navy crew member but provided by the White House.
"The 'Mission Accomplished' sign, of course, was put up by the members of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished."
"I know it was attributed somehow to some ingenious advance man from my staff -- they weren't that ingenious, by the way," he said.
