McCain is target of ad campaign

McCain is target of ad campaign
By Ed Tibbetts Friday, January 19, 2007 (0) Comments Rate this article Default Large
A liberal group has begun airing a television ad attacking potential 2008 presidential hopeful John McCain over the plan to increase troop levels in Iraq.
MoveOn.org Political Action began airing the ad Wednesday, spending $70,000 each in Iowa and New Hampshire.
All told, the group is spending $250,000 on the new ads, which also includes a nationwide run.
“Escalation is the wrong way,” said Tom Matzzie, the Washington director of the organization. “John McCain needs to pay a political price.”
He said adding troops will “make a bad situation worse,” adding that Americans said last Election Day that they wanted the troops brought home.
Iowa and New Hampshire are the leadoff caucus and primary states in the 2008 presidential election. McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, is considered a Republican front-runner for the 2008 nomination.
He has advocated for months an increase in troop levels in Iraq.
The ad, which is running through today, says President Bush’s plan to “escalate the war” by adding 21,000 troops is actually McCain’s and he wants to “keep them there, with no timeline for bringing them home.”
A McCain spokesman, Danny Diaz, responded by saying the group has “a long history of airing inflammatory material,” according to a statement released by McCain’s office.
“It is not surprising that a liberal group opposed to military action after Sept. 11, would attack Sen. McCain’s conservative values, as well as changing strategy and securing victory in Iraq,” Diaz said.
Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/01/19/news/local/doc45b06d5fcf347872805569.txt