Democrats Are Hammering Dole On The Airwaves

By Brooks Jackson/CNN

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, May 1) -- Sen. Robert Dole swept the Midwestern primaries March 19, sewing up the Republican nomination. He was helped along by an advertising blitz that portrayed him as a defender of traditional American values.

But then his TV ads went off the air. Dole's problem: no more money.

Meanwhile, President Bill Clinton's TV messages have dominated the airwaves. Since Dole's ads disappeared, the Democratic party has run pro-Clinton ads in more than 40 cities in 24 states monitored by CNN's consultant Competitive Media Reporting, including California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Maine, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Republican anti-Clinton ads have run in only 18 cities in 15 states -- California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and Maine.

During the past six weeks, Republican ads were repeated 2,000 times. But in the same time pro-Clinton ads ran nearly 8,000 times, nearly a four-to-one edge for Clinton.

And those Republican ads also went off the air most places a few days ago. Meanwhile, Democratic ads keep hammering away at Dole. Democrats say these unanswered blows are part of the reason Clinton is widening a huge lead in the polls.

"What he's doing right now is he's dominating the dialogue of the election," says Democratic consultant Tad Devine.

For now, the Democrats are emphasizing themes like crime, welfare, drugs, taxes, in an attempt to pre-empt Republican attacks. Political professionals call them "inoculation" ads, and they're running in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Maine, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

But Democrats are also testing other ads in Arkansas, Louisiana and Memphis, Tenn. Notes Devine: "What they are actually doing is testing these messages on polls, testing them in focus groups and ultimately testing them with voters themselves."

They're trying out ads with more liberal themes like education, health care and services for children. Those that go too far, like one that implied a Clinton program provides free vaccines to all children, are quickly changed.

Nearly all the Democratic ads tie Dole to the unpopular House Speaker Newt Gingrich. And, they often use the O-word: "old." They're trying to portray Dole as too old for the job. Clinton, by contrast, is presented as a young man with vision.

Republicans say their ads will start again in two or three weeks. "The fact is Bill Clinton vetoed bipartisan welfare reform not once but twice," asserts Ed Gillespie of the Republican National Committee. "He vetoed a tax cut for working Americans and he vetoed the first balanced budget in 26 years. Those facts will be out there when we get up with our own advertising and that will make an impression on voters."

Republicans say few people will remember the ads of March, April or May when they actually vote in November. But Democrats hope that by slamming away at Dole now, while he is defenseless, they can drive him too far down in the polls to recover.

This story originally appeared on CNN's "Inside Politics."

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