A new McCain TV ad is starting up on Friday with buys in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Wisconsin, West Virginia — and Colorado. Get used to these political ads: obviously we are in a targeted state for the presidential election.
A majority of Colorado voters haven’t supported a Democratic presidential candidate since 1992 with Bill Clinton’s first race, but in 2006 Democrats took control of the governorship and Legislature. Voter fickleness means that Colorado’s nine electoral votes could be up for grabs with either party for the 2008 election. As a targeted state, be prepared — voters will be inundated with TV ads, mailings and robo-calls by both parties.
Now that Sen. Barack Obama has apparently secured the Democratic nomination, Sen. John McCain is going up on the air in battleground states with a new campaign commercial in which he says: "I’m running for president to keep the country I love safe."
With plenty of violins in the background, McCain, as the presumptive Republican candidate, seems to be working on softening his image as a supporter of the Iraq War.
"Only a fool or a fraud talks tough or romantically about war," McCain says in the ad. "I was shot down over Vietnam and spent five years as a POW. Some of the friends I served with never came home. I hate war. And I know how terrible its costs are."
Stay tuned. Obama TV ads touting his anti-war stance can’t be far behind.
