Dean launches campaign ad in Iowa criticizing Gephardt

[Khephra]

Democrat Howard Dean, in a close battle with Dick Gephardt in Iowa, launched a television commercial Monday that takes his rival to task for backing President Bush on the war against Iraq.

In the first ad to mention a Democratic opponent by name, Dean questions Gephardt's work last fall with the Bush administration in drafting the congressional resolution authorizing the president to use force in Iraq.

"October 2002, Dick Gephardt agrees to co-author the Iraq war resolution -- giving George Bush the authority to go to war," the ad says. "A week later, with Gephardt's support, it passes Congress."

Amid the words are the photographs of Gephardt and Bush in the White House Rose Garden announcing agreement on the details of the resolution.

more......................

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/11/17/national1205EST0560.DTL

[RevolutionStartsNow]

1. He used the Rose Garden photo?

He's so mean! :)

[Khephra]

2. Oh, surely Dean doctored the photo

I mean, Gephardt didn't do such a thing, now did he?

:evilgrin:

People should also remember that Gephart was the first candidate to set up a website devoted to trashing another candidate....gee, I wonder which candidate that was?


Couuuuuuuld it be, DEAN?

In the battle of "naming names", Gephardt struck the first blow in the Dean/Gephardt battle.

[Pastiche423]

14. I think it's loverly

Gephardt gave it up when he stood ass to ass w/whistle ass. Does anyone know which photo is being used?

Maybe this one?

[Khephra]

23. This one is nice too

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with "his man".

[Demobrat]

3. I wish he didn't have to do this.

I'd rather see him spend his money on positive spots emphasizing his health care record. But I'm sure Trippi knows what's needed better than I do.

[_NorCal_D_]

4. As usual

Dean has to focus on the negative. Why can't he just tout his record instead of running a smear campaign?

[AP]

6. It's easy to criticize Gep in 30 sec commercial in black and white terms.

However, Deans going to need a 30 minute infomerical to explain to voters his nuanced position on Iraq. Is he against it because that's what the far left wants to hear? Or is he for it because he knows that he isn't going to get elected if he's perceived as soft on defense? And what's the difference between being against the war (as he narrowly defines it) and being for the 87 bil giveaway to private companies? You can't answer those questions in 30 seconds.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

7. again...

good luck to Dean- he's spun a fragile web of nuance which may collapse at a moment's scrutiny.

[Scott Lee]

8. One critical ad isn't a "smear campaign"

And I would criticize Dean if he made this a trend instead of a surgical strike. Surely you don't expect Dean NOT to hit at his opponents' most glaring weaknesses, right? This is a political fight, dudes.

[Khephra]

9. And, as I said above...

Gephardt is the one with an anti-Dean site. That's up 24 hours, 7 days a week.

If anyone has a smear campaign going, it ain't Dean.

[sangh0]

18. Oh, the irony

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=725578#725667

[sendero]

15. yeah....

... Dicky or Johny would never do that! The outrage! He's telling the truth about his opponent! That's out of bounds! You can't win on anger! Etc, etc, etc.

[Skidmore]

16. How is it a smear campaign to point out Gep's stance on the

war? I'm angry at Gep about this and believe he sold out in the so he could clear the war off the congressional agenda before campaign time. Well it backfired and if we're to hold * accountable, the Gep is to be held accountable as well. I won't cut Gep slack on this one as well and I haven't heard anything from him yet satisfies me by way of explanation. He sold his soul and now let him dance with the devil.

[depakid]

25. Holding a representative accountible for his actions

is hardly a smear campaign....

[NewYorkerfromMass]

5. This will probably gain Gephardt votes

nothing like Dean playing up his weakness. :eyes:

[Ripley]

21. Yeah, his "weakness" on defense is really helping Kerry in NH.

Oh yeah, it's not.

Oh yeah, most people don't buy that line except BUSH LOVERS.

Oh yeah, his weakness is that he didn't approve of a blank check for Smirk to devastate our economy, lose international credibilty and get bogged down in a war that has no exit strategy in sight.

Wow, Dean the weak, wild-eyed, real Bush-lite is gonna drop in the polls any minute now.

[Larkspur]

10. Thank Goddess, Dean used the Rose Garden photo!

I've been hoping that he'd use it against Gephardt in exchange for the slanderous ads Geppy has been doing on Dean.

That Rose Garden photo is damning to Gephardt and Lieberman. And the fact that Dean waited so long to use it, shows Dean's patience in the face of those lies, but Gephardt has overplayed his hand and needed to be slapped back to reality or at least the 21st century.

[jpgray]

11. Gephardt is very weak on the IWR, since he backstabbed Dems to get it

Dean wants to take Iowa and New Hampshire, and steamroller over everyone else. A fine plan, and one he has the money to do. As long as he doesn't misrepresent Gephardt's positions in any egregious way, I don't see what's special about this attack ad.

[RetroLounge]

12. Oooh, that Dean is a Baaaaad Man!

I bet he'll do and say anything to win...

Except stand with bush* in the rose garden or anywhere else, for that matter.

Commence Bash by the usual suspects 5-4-3-2-1 GO!

[sandnsea]

13. What was Howard's plan?

Oh yeah, give Saddam 30-60 days to comply and then attack unilaterally.

[killbotfactory]

17. Yes! Exactly! You've summed up Dean's position 100% correctly!

Wait, no you didnt.

[sandnsea]

19. Was it Saturday or Thursday

9AM or 3PM, 5 seconds ago or 5 days ago, hard to keep up with exactly what his plan was at any given moment.

[robbedvoter]

20. No smear, don't like Gephardt, but all this "who said what, when"

won't play well with voters. It should be about "what now" rather than "where were you when?"
It matters to us on DU - and anti-war people that Gephardt undercut Senate delibaration. Unfortunately, a majority was clamoring for war - even many Democrats. So, these people are not going to be as shocked as you guys...
All these purity tests are like inside jokes - most people don't get them.

[ozone_man]

22. I believe 65% were against war back in March, remember?

Bush managed to get weakling senators like Gephardt, Kerry and Edwards to vote for the IWR and then steam rolled ahead with war, even though 65% of polled Americans were against it.

But, when the nationalist flag is played, there is a rally around the flag phenomenon. I saw it coming, Dean saw it coming, but these senators chose to play politics and go with the flow.

If Dean can raise the awareness of voters as to what Gephardt did to create this problem, then it is a good thing.

I think many at DU saw this coming. Even as 911 was breaking, plans were being drawn to invade Iraq, though they were not responsible.

The chickens are coming home to roost and even the TV tuned, sports watching public is starting to come awake and realize that they were had. Dean will expose Bush for the fraud that he is.

[depakid]

24. This is totally fair game

It simply seeks to hold Gep accountible for his actions. I don't think it even qualifies as a negative ad.

If anyone's gone negative, it is Gephardt, through his repitition of simplistic and disingenuous statements about Dean's views on medicare. Those were CLEARLY designed to distort Dean's position and place him in a false light among voters for whom changes in the medicare system are of grave concern.

Whether Dean's new ads in Iowa prove to be a wise tactic is very much an open question. I'd say that they're quite a gamble, but given the news from Iraq lately and the fact that $87 billion used as federal revenue sharing would have wiped out every single state & local budget deficit in the country, while at the same time creating (and saving) hundreds of thoudands of jobs, it could be that's a gamble worth takin.