YouTube URL here, ad below.
In his new ad which will air in key swing states such as, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, he says, "Only a fool or a fraud talks romantically about war. When I was five years old my father left for war. My grandfather came home from war, and died the next day. I was shot down in Vietnam and spent five years as a POW. I hate war and I know how terrible its costs are. I’m running for president to keep the country I love safe.”
The ad is called "Safe" and during the 32 second video, black and white pictures are shown, which include photos of his grandfather, his father and pictures of himself in Hanoi.
For those unaware John McCain's service background, he was a naval aviator that was shot down, badly injured, and captured as a prisoner of war by the North Vietnamese. He spent five and a half years as a prisoner of war, experiencing episodes of torture.
McCain doesn't generally highlight that aspect of his history and on his bio page, he doesn't even mention being a POW for over five years, nor the fact that when he was offered release because his father was prominent, he refused, saying that others had been there longer than him.
These are words McCain very, very rarely says in public. But he recognizes -- and his campaign emphatically does -- the compelling nature of this experience and singular power it commands in an election when voters, no matter what they and McCain say, will vote on image and character as much as on substance and issues.
Character will play a very important part in Novembers general election, as some believe it should.
Stances on issues are important to the voting public but most are very aware that they want a president with character and this ad was created with that in mind as well as many pundits believing that character is as important if not more so than political positioning.
According to the New York Times, The Caucus, Democrats were surprised by the amount McCain's campaign spent on this ad to show in those key states mentioned above with one strategist suggesting that "McCain has committed to spend at least $3 million for television time over the next couple of weeks in various television markets in 10 states."
As The Caucus article mentions, the Republican National Committee has also launched a website about Barack Obama.
That website is called "Meet Barack Obama" with the sub header saying "Learn The Real Story About Illinois' Freshman Senator".
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