A Strategy of Tactics
This spot, produced by the
dean of Democratic media consultants, Bob Squier, begins by indicting the
Republicans for "another negative" attack. Initially, it doesn't even bother to
identify the substance of the attack. Survey research shows that one of the
most effective negative charges is that the other side is being negative. This
ad seeks to create a context of doubt for any and all Republican attacks on
Bill Clinton. In fact, both sides run negative ads.
Eventually the ad implies
that its subject (sort of) is immigration. The purpose is to pre-empt another
"natural" Republican issue. Immigration continues to be social and political
dynamite, and this spot tries to take the match out of Republican hands. The
Buchananesque toughness of the pictures validates the toughness of the
language, leaving the impression that Clinton is as anti-immigrant as any
Republican.
The spot now shifts to its
own negative fusillade against Republicans. They opposed protecting U.S.
workers from "replacement" by foreign workers. The actual issue is not
explained, but the charge taps into the populist anger about stagnant wages,
foreign competition, and the globalization that both Clinton and Dole, in fact,
have supported. Next, the spot says the Republicans opposed Clinton on more
police and anti-drug programs: another effort to pre-empt, or even reverse, a
perennial Republican advantage.
During this attack phase,
the ad alternates film of House Speaker Newt Gingrich with vaguely relevant
footage (What's inside the rug--an American job or an illegal alien?), while
repeatedly referring to "the Dole-Gingrich budget." But where is Dole? His
picture can't be used because, in theory if not in effect, the ad is an act of
legislative advocacy, paid for by the Democratic National Committee, not the
Clinton campaign--and legally, Dole, as an ex-senator, can't be its obvious
target. The Clinton campaign converts a legal restriction into a political
virtue, marrying Dole to the grainy black-and-white visage of America's most
unpopular politician. By contrast, Clinton appears intermittently in decidedly
presidential footage.
The Clinton campaign
doesn't want to be about one or two big things this year; it's not the economy
stupid. This spot is the vivid expression of a strategy of many tactics. There
is no message here, but an almost telegraphic mix of hot-button words.
--Robert Shrum
