THE AD: “What Kind of Man?’’ sponsored by Newt Gingrich’s campaign.
LENGTH: 1 minute
AIRING: On broadcast and cable stations in Florida.
KEY IMAGES: The ad begins with footage of Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, who ran against Mitt Romney in the 2008 GOP presidential contest, talking into the camera. “If a man’s dishonest to get a job, he’ll be dishonest on the job,’’ Huckabee says.
Downbeat music begins. A narrator intones darkly as a blurry image of Romney slowly comes into focus. “What kind of man would mislead, distort, and deceive just to win an election?’’ the male voice asks. “This man would. Mitt Romney.’’
Photos of Romney from recent debates are shown, and a bright red “false’’ stamp flashes across a different picture of Romney, who appears pained.
“Romney said he has always voted Republican when he had the opportunity,’’ the narrator says. “But in the 1992 Massachusetts primary, Romney had the chance to vote for George H.W. Bush or Pat Buchanan, but he voted for a liberal Democrat instead.
“Romney said his investments in Fannie and Freddie were in a blind trust. But as reported in the National Journal, Romney earned tens of thousands of dollars from investments NOT in a blind trust. Romney denied seeing a false ad his campaign used to attack Newt Gingrich. But Romney’s own campaign paid for the ad. . . . Romney’s own voice is on the ad approving the content.
“If we can’t trust Romney in a debate, how can we trust him on anything?’’
ANALYSIS: From disappointing losses in Iowa and New Hampshire to a soaring victory in South Carolina, the level of vitriol in Gingrich’s attacks on Romney has waxed and waned. After scaling back his barbs in two debates, Gingrich has seen his numbers slip. Opinion polls show a close race in Florida, with a slight advantage for Romney.
This ad is by far the sharpest, most personal attack on the former Massachusetts governor from Gingrich’s campaign to date. “What Kind of Man?’’ also seems to signal that Gingrich will fight bitterly for the GOP nomination.
The ad makes a series of claims that Romney could justifiably dispute.
Regarding the 1992 Massachusetts primary, Romney has said he was a registered independent so he could have more influence in a state where Democrats typically dominate. Romney has maintained that he has always voted for Republicans in general elections, and voted in the Democratic primary so he could vote for a weaker candidate and improve the GOP’s chances.
As Gingrich’s ad asserts, National Journal and others did report that Romney’s investments in mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not in a blind trust. Romney’s financial disclosure forms show he owned between $250,001 and $500,000 in the Federated Government Obligation Fund, which contained mutual fund notes of politically sensitive Fannie and Freddie.
An addendum to his disclosure forms says certain assets, including the federated fund, were outside the scope of his blind trust. The investment was not on Romney’s 2007 financial form, making it a relatively new one coming just as the housing and financial crises were hitting Americans full force. Romney and his campaign have, nonetheless, denied that he had any knowledge of his large investment in the fund.
SOURCE: Henry C. Jackson, Associated Press