This Obama ad, airing in Nevada, is an attempt to defuse charges by Bill and Hillary Clinton that the Illinois senator wavered in his opposition to the Iraq war in a pair of 2004 interviews. By flatly declaring again that he opposed the invasion in 2002, as a state legislator, when "the others would not," Obama is -- without naming Clinton -- reminding viewers that the New York senator voted to authorize the war.Invoking his role in the ethics law adopted last year, Obama is trying to add specifics to his generalized message of change. Saying that he "passed" the legislation is an overstatement, but press accounts and Democratic leaders credited Obama with playing a leading part in pushing tougher restrictions on lobbying and fuller disclosure.
The following text references the ad that appears below:
By adding details to his familiar call to "unite a divided nation" -- a second ad [embedded below] promises to end "tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas" -- Obama also combats Clinton's criticism that there is little behind his soaring rhetoric. Neither candidate has run an explicitly negative ad so far.
