Hillary Clinton challenged Barack Obama to another debate in Wisconsin. When he declined (2 more debates have been scheduled), Hillary ran an ad attacking Obama for ducking a debate. Here’s the response from the Obama campaign.
The key to the ad is its simplicity. It points out that the candidates have had 18 debates already and that 2 more are scheduled, so her silly charge that he is ducking a debate is the “same old politics.” This plays perfectly with Obama’s narrative – he wants to move beyond the old politics and unite the country, and Hillary keeps proving that she can olny operate from the old playbook.
In South Carolina, when Hillary ran an ad accusing Obama of claiming that Ronald Reagan and the Republicans had better ideas, the Obama campaign quickly responded with an ad refuting the baseless claim and charging that Hillary will “say anything” to get elected. Ouch. The Clinton campaign pulled the ad and got smoked in South Carolina.
The Obama campaign has been impressive in its ability to counter the ridiculous claims coming from the Clinton campaign. Anyone who thinks he will be “Swift-Boated” by the Republicans in the fall might be in for a surprise.
