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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > February > 25 > Entry
Union releases ad for Obama
Expect to see a new pro-Barack Obama television ad starting Tuesday, Feb. 26. This one is from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, and it’s airing in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Youngstown.
The ad’s got the Clinton camp a little miffed. In a 45-minute long conference call with reporters Sunday afternoon, Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson urged Obama to get the union to back off of their ad buy, saying Obama, in Iowa, was heavily critical of then-contender John Edwards when unions began running ads for Edwards in the state. They say that Obama didn’t hesitate before bashing outside groups from getting involved in the Iowa campaign, but has been a bit too quiet when outside groups get involved on his behalf.
“This brings into question his own consistency,” said Robby Mook, the Ohio political director for Clinton.
For their part, the Clinton camp says they have no problem with unions and outside groups weighing in - provided the ads themselves are accurate.
Last week, a 527 group called American Leadership Project began running ads in Ohio praising Clinton. So-called 527 groups, which operate under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Service code, are required to advocate issues and not directly support candidates. Obama’s campaign criticized the group, comparing it to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the Republican-leaning group that criticized former Sen. John Kerry in 2004 by questioning his efforts in the Vietnam War. Obama’s camp suggested that the American Leadership Project might be violating FEC rules required to report political spending.
Wolfson said he knew nothing about the American Leadership Project and could not comment on those ads.
The Clinton camp isn’t the first to bash Obama for attacking independent groups while also accepting the support of others. The RNC earlier this month sent out a sheet detailing Obama quotes criticizing such outside involvement. “You can’t say yesterday, you don’t believe in ‘em, and today, you’re having three-quarters of a million dollars being spent for you,” they quoted Obama as saying in a Dec. 22 piece in the Chicago Tribune. “You can’t just talk the talk.” That RNC release also quoted Obama as saying, “I don’t just talk the talk; I walk the walk,” in a Jan. 25 story in the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Obama campaign late Sunday said they did not know about the union’s ad buy. Under the law, outside organizations aren’t allowed to coordinate with campaigns.
UPDATE: This from Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor: “While Senator Clinton has benefited from more than $5 million in spending from outside groups and said nothing, Senator Obama has long said that he would prefer those who want to support his him do it directly through the campaign.”
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