New Biden TV ad pushes Iraq exit

By ABBY SIMONS
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

August 18, 2007

With an Iowa cornfield as his backdrop, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden opens the first of his televised Iowa campaign ads the same way he has begun nearly 70 stump speeches across the state this year.

Absent dramatic music or a well-honed voiceover, he tells a story.

"It was my fourth trip to Iraq, we were leaving Baghdad. It was pitch black," Biden begins before describing the sight of a flag-draped coffin strapped in the middle of his C-130 plane.

"They turned that cargo plane into a cathedral," he says "And all I could think of was the parents waiting at the other end."

The 30-second commercial is part of a quarter-million-dollar ad campaign that will launch Sunday emphasizing the Delaware senator's campaign focus, a detailed plan to end the war in Iraq.

The televised spots will also feature a 60-second ad of the same nature, said Larry Rasky, communications director for the Biden campaign. The advertisements will air on all major networks.

Rasky said the campaign decided to launch the ads around Labor Day, when historically it has seen Iowans "really start to focus" on the potential candidates that have campaigned before them all summer.

The 30-second ad features only Biden, and differs from other candidates' spots that feature their positions on a gamut of issues, as well as a plethora of schmoozing with Iowans. That's the goal, Rasky said.

"There's no question that Iraq is the major issue on the minds of the voters and there's also no question that Joe Biden has been the leader in trying to push George Bush to get out of Iraq," he said.While Biden trails the latest polls with about 2 percent of support among Democratic candidates, the campaign's hoping the ads help.

"It will certainly raise the senator's favorable name recognition, but as for the horse race question, I think it remains to be seen as to when people really begin focusing on making that choice, but it will happen over time," he said.

Reporter Abby Simons can be reached at (515) 284-8136 or asimons@dmreg.com