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» Candidate/Organization: RNC
» Other Candidates Mentioned: RNC
» Year: 2006
» States: None
» Race: National Campaign
» Party: Republican
» Funded by: Party
» Disseminations: TV, Web

Ad Content

» Cues: On-screen Writing, Terror Attacks, War in Iraq, Weapons/Military Equipment
» Issues: Homeland Security, National Defense, War on Terror
» Tone: Negative
» Types: Issue
» Music: Ominous
» Characters: Osama Bin Laden, Terrorists
» Narrator: No
» Language: English

Analysis

By factcheck.org: The Republican National Committee's latest ad - a 2006 version of President Johnson's famous 1964 "Daisy" commercial against Barry Goldwater - invokes the threat of a nuclear attack by al Qaeda.

With no soundtrack but the tick-tick-tick of a timer, the ad shows quotes from bin Laden deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri saying "we purchased some suitcase bombs" and that the 9/11 attacks were "nothing compared to what you will see next." That's followed by a graphic image of a rapidly expanding orange-yellow globe that looks like a nuclear fireball.

The ad accurately quotes accounts of what bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri have said. The images of al Qaeda fighters are taken from al-Jazeera broadcasts and are apparently genuine. However, by using powerful visual images, the ad invites a conclusion for which the RNC offers no proof: Voting for Democrats risks nuclear incineration. That's an appeal to fear more than reason. More...