Hillary goes negative

This Sunday’s pick of the papers focuses on Hillary Clinton’s desperate attempt to save her campaign. Previously I asked how low would Hillary go. Well, her team has just released one of the most negative TV ads in election history.

According to an article in today’s Observer newspaper:

“Clinton is in the battle of her life and the odds are against her. And it is not only a fight to be the next occupant of the White House. It is also about the legacy that Clinton and her husband, Bill, have left America and whether they still have a role to play.

They are also willing to play nasty to emerge victorious. American TV screens are now full of one of the most aggressive attack ads in recent history. Dubbed ‘Children’, it in effect suggests that a vote for Barack Obama will lead to such weakness on national security that the American homeland will be in peril. It is shot over pictures of sleeping babies and it appeals directly to the ‘security moms’ demographic that Clinton needs.

Her brutal new attack ad in Texas is simply the latest line in a series of nasty volleys at Obama. But it does set a new standard for naked aggression. The advert features a crisis hotline ringing in the middle of the night at the White House. ‘It’s 3am and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?’ the voiceover asks ominously over shots of sleeping babies.

The underlying message is stark: electing Obama will allow terrorists to hurt your children. But that ad is just the surface. Photos of Obama dressed up in traditional Somali garb on a trip to Africa surfaced on the infamous Drudge Report website.

The Clinton campaign has also stepped up attacks on the media for giving Obama an easy time, while pushing claims that Obama had plagiarised speeches and had borrowed the tactics of Republican bête noire Karl Rove in spreading misinformation. It has rapidly become a street fight, and it could get even dirtier.”

The ad has already been relentlessly parodied on YouTube. I include the original here.