Amid an eye-for-an-eye contest to prove who has less moral character, Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior Romney campaign strategist, says the Obama camp has “lost credibility” after a pro-Obama super PAC released an ad this week that linked Mitt Romney to a woman’s death.
“The Obama campaign has engaged in not only an outright falsehood, beyond that their campaign has deceived the public over what they knew about it,” Mr. Fehrnstrom said Friday, according to Politico. “When you start running ads accusing your opponent of killing people, then you have lost credibility, and I think that’s where the Obama campaign finds itself.”
Mr. Fehrnstrom was referring to the ad that pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA released called “Understands,” which features Joe Soptic who essentially blames Mitt Romney for the death of his wife. The ad spurred much public backlash and some people, including a reporter from the Chicago Tribune, called it “vicious” and “shameful.” The Obama campaign admitted to hearing Mr. Soptic’s story before but insisted that they were not involved in making the ad released by Priorities USA.
In response to the “Understands” ad, the Romney campaign rolled its own new ad Friday titled “America Deserves Better” that questions the “character” of a president who “tries to use the tragedy of a woman’s death for political gain.”
“What does it say about a president’s character when he had his campaign raise money for the ad then stood by as his top aides were caught lying about it?” the ad asks. “Doesn’t America deserve better than a president who will stay or do anything to stay in power?”
“I don’t think a world champion limbo dancer could get any lower than the Obama campaign right now,” Mr. Fehrnstrom told reporters today. “In the process, Obama has squandered what has always been one of his key attributes, that he was a different kind of politician who would take us to a different place.”
The Romney campaign and its super PACs have also released attack ads against President Obama, such as an ad accusing him of declaring war on religion and another saying the President is gutting welfare reform. The Obama campaign has rebutted both of these accusations.
After reporters asked repeatedly if the Romney campaign would set a standard for its own accuracy in advertising, Mr. Fehrnstrom deflected the questions by telling them they should be asking the same of the Obama campaign.
In the past week, a number of surveys have shown Mr. Obama gaining some ground in what was once a closely matched race. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Mr. Obama with a lead of seven percentage points, while a Fox News poll showed the president with a lead of nine percentage points.
A CNN survey showed the Democrat leading Romney by seven percentage points. The CNN survey specifically points to attack ads against Mr. Romney as the reason for the spike in favor of Mr. Obama.
Despite public criticism over the use of attack advertising, many scholars say negative campaigning works. Dean Michael Mezey of DePaul University explains that negative advertising gets supporters committed and excited.
When a reporter asked a group of Romney campaign advisers what they thought of the new polls Friday, one answered, “Guys, it’s the middle of summer, it’s the doldrums, it’s the middle of the Olympics. There has not been any national news, anything that would push these numbers from 3 to 9 points.”
The adviser pointed to a lack of changes in Gallup or Rassmussen tracking numbers as evidence the other polls were wrong.
“You’ve got to have something to precipitate that kind of sea change,” the adviser said. “The attitudes toward the economy, attitudes on right direction, wrong track haven’t changed a bit. It hasn’t changed, it is still the same as it was a month ago in terms of attitudes toward the economy.”
“The Obama campaign has engaged in not only an outright falsehood, beyond that their campaign has deceived the public over what they knew about it,” Mr. Fehrnstrom said Friday, according to Politico. “When you start running ads accusing your opponent of killing people, then you have lost credibility, and I think that’s where the Obama campaign finds itself.”
Mr. Fehrnstrom was referring to the ad that pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA released called “Understands,” which features Joe Soptic who essentially blames Mitt Romney for the death of his wife. The ad spurred much public backlash and some people, including a reporter from the Chicago Tribune, called it “vicious” and “shameful.” The Obama campaign admitted to hearing Mr. Soptic’s story before but insisted that they were not involved in making the ad released by Priorities USA.
In response to the “Understands” ad, the Romney campaign rolled its own new ad Friday titled “America Deserves Better” that questions the “character” of a president who “tries to use the tragedy of a woman’s death for political gain.”
“What does it say about a president’s character when he had his campaign raise money for the ad then stood by as his top aides were caught lying about it?” the ad asks. “Doesn’t America deserve better than a president who will stay or do anything to stay in power?”
“I don’t think a world champion limbo dancer could get any lower than the Obama campaign right now,” Mr. Fehrnstrom told reporters today. “In the process, Obama has squandered what has always been one of his key attributes, that he was a different kind of politician who would take us to a different place.”
The Romney campaign and its super PACs have also released attack ads against President Obama, such as an ad accusing him of declaring war on religion and another saying the President is gutting welfare reform. The Obama campaign has rebutted both of these accusations.
After reporters asked repeatedly if the Romney campaign would set a standard for its own accuracy in advertising, Mr. Fehrnstrom deflected the questions by telling them they should be asking the same of the Obama campaign.
In the past week, a number of surveys have shown Mr. Obama gaining some ground in what was once a closely matched race. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Mr. Obama with a lead of seven percentage points, while a Fox News poll showed the president with a lead of nine percentage points.
A CNN survey showed the Democrat leading Romney by seven percentage points. The CNN survey specifically points to attack ads against Mr. Romney as the reason for the spike in favor of Mr. Obama.
Despite public criticism over the use of attack advertising, many scholars say negative campaigning works. Dean Michael Mezey of DePaul University explains that negative advertising gets supporters committed and excited.
When a reporter asked a group of Romney campaign advisers what they thought of the new polls Friday, one answered, “Guys, it’s the middle of summer, it’s the doldrums, it’s the middle of the Olympics. There has not been any national news, anything that would push these numbers from 3 to 9 points.”
The adviser pointed to a lack of changes in Gallup or Rassmussen tracking numbers as evidence the other polls were wrong.
“You’ve got to have something to precipitate that kind of sea change,” the adviser said. “The attitudes toward the economy, attitudes on right direction, wrong track haven’t changed a bit. It hasn’t changed, it is still the same as it was a month ago in terms of attitudes toward the economy.”