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The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
'Wacky' gas tax ads fuel heated campaign
By John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
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Stay with CNN for ongoing coverage of the White House decision to allow Condoleezza Rice to testify publicly before the 9/11 commission -- and for reports and analysis from the campaign trail.
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 CNN's Bill Schneider on a new poll suggesting GOP attacks may take a toll on John Kerry.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The rising cost of gas takes center stage Tuesday in the 2004 race as President Bush unleashes a new TV spot that calls Sen. John Kerry "wacky" for backing a 50-cent gas tax.
The ad starts airing Wednesday on national cable and in 18 states, but the Bush campaign released it to the press Tuesday morning, banking on a full day of free media coverage.
The campaign appears to be encouraged by new polls that suggest the president's TV ads may be fostering the impression among voters that Kerry is a "tax-and-spend" liberal.
Raising money Monday night in San Francisco, California, so that one day he too can run a robust air war, Kerry hit back. And before one regular voter, and most political reporters, had laid eyes on the new commercial, Camp Kerry had condemned it as "shamelessly misleading," saying the senator has "never sponsored, co-sponsored or voted for a 50-cent gas tax increase."
On Tuesday, Kerry heads to San Diego, the city with the highest gas prices in the country this week, to unveil a plan to cut those costs. Also, Democratic surrogates in key swing states will fan out across the country Tuesday to defend Kerry.
The Bush ad, called "Wacky," is shot like an old, black-and-white silent movie.
"Some people have wacky ideas, like taxing gasoline more -- so people will drive less. That's John Kerry," an announcer says. "He supported a 50 cent gas tax. If Kerry's gas tax increase were law -- the average family would pay $657 more a year. Raising taxes is a habit of Kerry's -- he supported gasoline taxes 11 times. Maybe John Kerry just doesn't understand what his ideas mean to the rest of us."
Kerry to pump energy policy
Kerry's campaign doesn't have the resources right now to defend the senator on air, but Democrats are aiming to maximize their use of free media to try to blunt the president's latest attack.
They may need to do something. The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll, out Monday, showed that Bush's ads have put him back in the lead and have sent Kerry's unfavorable ratings upward.
At the Bay area fund-raiser, Kerry told the crowd, "I noticed that gas is now close to $3 a gallon here in California. If it keeps going up like that, folks, pretty shortly [Dick] Cheney and President Bush are going to have to carpool to work together. These are not Exxon prices -- those are Halliburton prices."
He added, "You have to give this administration credit because they clearly understand the connection between gas prices and the economy, because their approach to a solution of these high gas prices is just to make sure no one has a job to drive to."
Camp Kerry also said Monday night that Democratic officeholders in key states hit hard by rising gas prices would speak out against the Bush administration's energy policy.
In California, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein will hold a conference call Tuesday afternoon. City Councilwoman Kathy Groat holds the "Harry Houdini Rally: Vanishing Prosperity Under Bush" in Appleton, Wisconsin, the hometown of the late magician. In Florida, state Sen. Ron Klein and other party leaders gather in Tallahassee to push back at Bush. Other activities are planned in Washington state, Oregon, New Hampshire, Ohio, Maine, Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan.
In his San Diego speech Tuesday, Kerry is set to unveil his plan to help cut prices, aides said. He'll call for the federal government to stop pumping oil into its emergency stockpile, pressure OPEC countries to increase production, use diplomatic means to get member nations to cut prices and enact a national fuel strategy to limit price ranges around the country.
In San Francisco, Kerry dabbled in the realm of political humor beyond the gas issue, including one quip tailored toward the California crowd.
"I don't know how many of you saw it, but last week on 'Meet the Press,' Ted Kennedy gave Arnold [Schwarzenegger] permission to run for president," he said. "Did you see that? And how do you think that made me feel? It's taken me 20 years until last October to get him to give me permission to run for president."
Dean team gets moving
Meanwhile, the Grind hears movement is under way in Burlington, Vermont, where former Gov. Howard Dean is trying to get his new organization, Democracy for America, up and running. Karen Hicks, his state director in the New Hampshire primaries, initially declined Dean's request that she run the group, citing a desire to live somewhere other than Burlington.
But sources said that Hicks has reconsidered and is likely to become the group's executive director. Look for an official announcement within the next two weeks.
Speaking of former Dean activists, Joe Trippi, the candidate's one-time campaign manager, tells the Grind that he's "leaning hard" toward leaving his media and consulting firm Trippi McMahon & Squier. The Alexandria, Virginia, firm, which worked on all four of Dean's gubernatorial races, was formed in 1990.
Trippi said he hadn't made a formal decision about his plans, but he implied he would do so in the coming days or week.
Regardless of his decision, the firm plans to remain a thriving and functioning force in Democratic politics for years to come.
The Grind wants to correct the misimpression left by some spiky-haired know-it-all, who announced this development Monday on CNN's "Inside Politics" but, for some reason, said the firm would dissolve once Trippi left. Forgive the kid, he's new to the whole TV thing and gets a little scatterbrained under the bright lights. (Our sincere apologies.)
CNN's Mike Roselli contributed to this report.
