NEW YORK — The crush of presidential campaign ads is here.
Less than five weeks before voting begins in the 2012 presidential contest, the Republican candidates are stepping up their presence over the TV airwaves and online. Super PACs have been running ads, and the Democratic National Committee is doing its best to try to weaken a leading GOP contender, Mitt Romney.
President Obama has even tiptoed into the fray with a limited ad buy soliciting volunteers for his campaign.
“We’ve been waiting for it to start, and it’s been a little slower in Iowa and New Hampshire than we expected. But that doesn’t say anything about what’s going to happen next, and in the coming year,” said Ken Goldstein, president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks ad spending.
The new, more aggressive advertising phase comes as the Republican field remains deeply unsettled before the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3. The New Hampshire primary follows Jan. 10.
The field may become more volatile still. After months of training their attacks primarily on Mr. Obama, the Republicans are beginning to assail one another.
This emerging ad crush poses particular challenges for Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who polls at or near the top of the field in the early states but has failed to consolidate support behind his candidacy. While he has tried to run a general election strategy focused on beating Mr. Obama, he has been the target of attacks from both his GOP rivals and the DNC.
Mr. Romney’s campaign began running its first TV ad just last week, in New Hampshire, and it immediately drew criticism.
The ad criticizes Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy and appears to quote the president from the 2008 campaign saying, “If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.” But the quote is misleading - Mr. Obama was paraphrasing a comment from an aide to then-Republican rival John McCain. Mr. Romney has stood by the ad, saying the quote is fair game.
Mr. Romney’s campaign announced Thursday that it would begin running ads in Iowa, signaling a decision to compete fully in the state after steering clear of it for much of the campaign. Mr. Romney spent about $10 million in Iowa in 2008 only to lose the caucuses to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Meanwhile, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has surged to the top of many recent polls, has come under withering attack from rival Rep. Ron Paul. The Texas congressman released a scathing Web video painting Mr. Gingrich as a shape-shifting mercenary who has changed position on key issues because of lucrative consulting contracts with the housing giant Freddie Mac, the health care industry and others.
Mr. Gingrich hasn’t aired commercials yet, but his rising popularity has fueled a burst of fundraising success that could pay for some advertising in the coming weeks, campaign officials said.
Mr. Obama has appeared in two new re-election ads urging people to volunteer for his campaign. “Don’t sit this one out,” the president says, apparently trying to counter the expectation that the intense grass-roots interest in his candidacy in 2008 has abated this time. Campaign aides said the ad is airing lightly on satellite television and only as a test to see whether TV is an effective way to recruit volunteers.
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