Obama's ads in key states go on attack

But Mr. Obama’s advertising has increasingly included spots that, like those from Mr. McCain, have been called negative and misleading by independent media analysts like FactCheck.org, part of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania .

Until last week, the organization had mostly focused on misleading claims by Mr. McCain. He has consistently misrepresented the particulars of Mr. Obama’s tax and energy policies, claiming, for instance, that he will raise taxes on families making $42,000 a year — a nonbinding resolution he voted for would amount to a $15 increase on individuals with such income — and that Mr. Obama opposes nuclear energy (he does not).

But in the past two weeks the group has criticized Mr. Obama’s spots for linking Mr. McCain to a decision by the DHL shipping company to pull out of a hub in Ohio, eliminating 8,200 jobs there; for exaggerating Mr. McCain’s donations from oil executives; and for portraying his general corporate tax break as specifically tailored to oil and drug companies.

“We certainly for a while were finding a lot more in McCain’s ads to complain about,” said Brooks Jackson, the director of FactCheck.org. “That pattern certainly has shifted a bit.”

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Even if Mr. Obama’s attack ads have so far not drawn much national attention — in part because of the frenzied coverage of the vice-presidential selection process — the spots have clear potential to undercut Mr. Obama’s promise to remain above the fray of what he calls “the same old Washington games.”

Tucker Bounds, a McCain spokesman, called the strategy a “result of his inexperience.” He added, “With a partisan record that doesn’t measure up, Barack Obama’s been reduced to a sucker-punch strategy, shirking his ‘new type of politics’ in favor of a more negative campaign.”

But several Democratic strategists said the ad campaign reflected the reality of the race. “They may understand that this race is a lot tougher than they originally thought it was going to be,” said David Doak, a Democratic strategist, “and they’re reacting that way.”

Mr. Obama’s approach to the confrontational advertising is decidedly different from that of Mr. McCain. When Mr. McCain released his spot linking the popularity of Mr. Obama to the celebrity of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears last month, Mr. McCain’s aides held a conference call with reporters.

In several cases Mr. Obama’s campaign has either not announced its new spots or done so only after they were noticed by news organizations. Bill Burton, a spokesman, said that the campaign had not intentionally sought to hide its advertisements, noting they are available on the Obama Web site and in heavy rotation in states.

“We don’t have a secret message,” Mr. Burton said. “It’s a crystal clear one.”

He stood by the accuracy of the spots.

This article, Obama's ads in key states go on the attack, first appeared in The New York Times.

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