The 9/11 card

Sat., Oct. 2, 2004

By Jim Camden jimc@spokesman.com (509) 879-7461

“False” is a 30-second television commercial from Sen. Patty Murray designed to rebut an earlier commercial from Rep. George Nethercutt that she was offering excuses for the actions of Osama bin Laden. It superimposes the words “false” and “slanderous,” attributed to articles in Seattle newspapers, over shots from his commercial, adding that he’s making the claims about bin Laden and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as part of a pattern of “doing anything to get elected,” such as changing his mind on term limits and missing votes to campaign. Viewers who look closely might notice that the newspaper articles ran a month ago – long before the Nethercutt ad aired.

Nethercutt’s stance In an interview Friday, Nethercutt insisted his ad was accurate because it used Murray’s own words. He says the incumbent senator should be ashamed, not him, of saying bin Laden has been helping people but the United States has not. He also repeated his challenge for more debates than the two currently scheduled for later this month, suggesting that one be devoted to terrorism and the war in Iraq. “The long and the short of it is, she’s hiding.”	Murray’s stance Alex Glass, a spokeswoman for the Murray campaign, said this commercial sets the record straight from the “baseless, desperate attack” in the earlier Nethercutt ad. Even though the newspaper articles cited aren’t passing judgment on his ad, she contended they were appropriate because this fits with “a pattern of false and slanderous statements” they were denouncing. The two candidates are debating twice on statewide television, she said, and will have a chance to discuss those issues at both of them.
The bottom line Each campaign says the other’s ads are negative and theirs merely factual, but most viewers are going to shudder at any ad featuring bin Laden or 9/11 wreckage and not care too much about who started it. The Murray ad creates a false impression that the newspapers it cites are calling the Nethercutt ad slanderous when the accompanying dates prove that’s not possible. Even though the newspapers named in the ad have since criticized Nethercutt’s commercial, the suggestion that month-old criticisms can be grafted onto this week’s ad is a stretch. The real excuse for using old news clippings is probably simpler: Murray wanted to get her rebuttal commercial on the air as quickly as possible.
Ad watch is an analysis of campaign advertising that will run regularly during election season. If you have questions about Ad watch, contact political editor Shawn Vestal at (509) 459-5431 or shawnv@spokesman.com	For more information on the election, and to see selected campaign advertisements, visit the online election guide at: www.spokesmanreview.com/elections