About This Ad | Watch the Video »

» Candidate/Organization: NRSC
» Other Candidates Mentioned: Bob Corker, Harold Ford
» Year: 2006
» State: Tennessee
» Race: Senate, District N/A (About This Race)
» Party: Republican
» Funded by: Party
» Disseminations: TV, Web

Ad Content

» Cues: Characters, Constituents
» Issues: Constituent Services, Family, Leadership
» Tone: Negative
» Types: Attack
» Music: Fun
» Characters: "Real People"
» Narrator: No
» Language: English

Analysis

By The Washington Post: Both ads deal with the baggage of Ford's family with only vague allusions to the criminal cases involved. The Democratic congressman's uncle was indicted last year on corruption charges; another uncle was convicted of insurance fraud in 1981; and Ford's father, who held the House seat before him, was acquitted of bank fraud in 1990.

Corker is implying that Ford -- called "Junior" -- is a chip off the old block. And the line about the family trying to "tie up every political slot in Tennessee" suggests a machine that no longer exists -- and that Ford is getting by on his name.

Ford -- using the god line to suggest that Corker is being unduly negative -- counters that while he won't bad-mouth his family, the election is about him, not them. His ad, by accusing the former Chattanooga mayor of "getting personal," tries to make the references to his family sound like dirty pool.

The Corker spot uses a man-on-the-street approach to neutralize Ford's greater charisma by painting him as a pretty boy who is out of touch with Tennessee. As a congressman's son, Ford largely grew up in Washington and attended the elite St. Albans School. But he has represented his Memphis district for a decade.

--Howard Kurtz More...