With Clinton showing double-digit leads in many polls and steamrolling her rivals in recent debates, aides said that spending precious campaign funds to attack herself sends a message to voters that the New York senator “feels good about how the campaign is going.” While negative ads have become commonplace in political campaigns, Clinton’s bruising ads are believed to be the first time a political candidate has spent her own money to attack herself.
“The American people want a leader,” said Clinton campaign spokeswoman Carol Foyler. “And if her rivals won’t come out and attack her, Sen. Clinton is going to show leadership by attacking herself.”
Perhaps in a bid to blunt the effect of Clinton’s self-attacking ad campaign, Sen. Barack Obama today began airing what his aides are calling “his politest ads to date.” In the TV spots, a soft-spoken Obama looks into the camera and says, “Sen. Clinton, I am asking you nicely to please stop winning by so much.”
Elsewhere, in his first major proposal on global warming, President Bush today declared war on the sun.
