New Kerry-for-president TV ads target Maine

The John Kerry for President campaign will roll out two new television ads today as part of a $25 million buy in 19 battleground states, including Maine.

The media blitz, the single largest advertising buy to date, comes six months before the November election and features members of Kerry’s family, two fellow Vietnam veterans and even one prominent Republican.

The biographical ads, which do not mention President Bush, mark a stark departure from the anti-Bush spots aired by Kerry-friendly interest groups, the Media Fund and MoveOn.org.

“The ads make clear the record of someone who fights for what matters,” Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said during a Monday conference call with reporters. “John Kerry is running a wholly positive ad campaign based on his record.”

The two 60-second ads titled “Heart” and “Lifetime” will run for three weeks and are billed as the campaign’s “answer [to] George Bush’s barrage of attack ads.”

Bush’s current ad campaign, which began in late April, takes aim – unfairly, some independent analysts say – at Kerry’s national defense record, even tailoring ads for specific states.

For instance, in Maine – one of nine targeted states – the Bush ad faults Kerry for voting to cancel Aegis warship program at Bath Iron Works.

Maine is considered a battleground state because of its independent voting history and the closeness of the 2000 election. Campaigns often favor advertising here because media markets in some parts of the state reach into New Hampshire.

Sandy Maisel, a Colby College political science professor, said the latest Bush ads were effective, but uncharacteristic of a re-election campaign in their focus on the opponent. Such critical ads are most often reserved for political parties or special interest groups, he explained.

Although Kerry’s $25 million ad blitz, which also includes national cable channels, is the largest single buy in the race, the Bush campaign spent twice that in March.

Bush-Cheney 2004 spokesman Kevin Madden disputed the negative labels some have put on the president’s early ads, instead calling them “comparative.”

“It seems as though every time [Kerry] gets a chance to rewrite history, he does it,” Madden said of the latest Kerry ads, which he said avoid his troubling 19-year voting record in the U.S. Senate.

But Maisel said the new Kerry ads, particularly “Lifetime,” could prove effective in defining the Democrat as a war-tested candidate with a close working relationship with Sen. John McCain, a popular Republican sometimes mentioned among Kerry’s potential running mates.

Bush officials have tried to downplay the possibility, and Madden on Monday noted McCain is co-chairman of the Bush re-election campaign in Arizona.

For its part, McCain’s office released a statement on the senator’s brief mention in the Kerry ad.

“The Kerry ad is factually correct, and perhaps the Bush campaign will document Sen. McCain’s work with the president as well,” the statement said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.