Much of the political world was abuzz yesterday afternoon when Wesley Clark’s campaign unveiled its new TV ad. The uproar was caused because the ad shows, for about four seconds, Bill Clinton.
I’m not naïve. I fully appreciate that Clinton remains an unrivaled Democratic Party icon. Candidates have been tripping over themselves to praise the former president, explaining how they, if elected, would return America to the peace and prosperity we enjoyed during Clinton’s two terms.
So far, however, Clark is the first candidate to feature Clinton in any of the campaign’s ads, which I suppose makes this commercial newsworthy. Reporters are insisting that featuring Clinton in the ad is an effort for Clark to “align” himself with the former president.
“It’s a brilliant stroke,” said Donna Brazile, a Democratic consultant who ran the 2000 campaign of Al Gore, Clinton’s vice president. “It shows General Clark as someone who is close to Bill Clinton. This will help him galvanize Democratic primary voters. They love Bill Clinton.”
There may be some truth to that, but in this case, context matters a lot. The spot doesn’t infer that Clinton favors Clark over his rivals, it just features Clinton awarding Clark the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his leadership in Kosovo, one of the highest honors any American can receive.
Take a look at the ad and see what you think. If you don’t have a suitable player, here’s the text of the commercial:
Text: What if we could have a President?
Voice: What if we could have a president who in his lifetime has seen ordinary people do extraordinary things? Because he believed in them. Who was decorated for valor and service to our country. Who helped negotiate a peace.
Text: Helped negotiate the Bosnia Peace Accords
Voice: And has dedicated his life to protecting our country. Because like you he believes America is ready to do great things. A new American leader.
All in all, it’s a good spot that stresses Clark’s strengths. But to hear Clark’s rivals complain, you’d think that the ad infers that Clark and Clinton will be running mates. I think they’re overreacting.
Jay Carson, a spokesman for the Dean campaign, said the ad “doesn’t make up for a lifetime of voting Republican.” Now, now, Jay. Let’s not forget that Clark also voted for Clinton (twice) and Gore in 2000.
One last thing: If Clark’s campaign was clever about using Clinton footage in the ad, it was even more skillful in announcing this fact to the media. The campaign is spending a relatively modest $125,000 to broadcast the ad in New Hampshire next week, but the spot is getting plenty of free airtime because of its newsworthy guest star.