89-year old Mike Gravel, whose campaign is being run by two teenagers, is clearly not ready to pass the torch – instead he is releasing a new attack ad torching former Vice-President Joe Biden.
The clip begins with a montage of some of the most illustrious men and women to secure or seek the Democratic nomination – Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jesse Jackson and Shirley Chisholm – overlaid with two questions: “Who do you want to lead our party next? Following in the footsteps of giants?”
The video then pans to a shot of Biden, and leaves the viewer with a question: “This man?”
Gravel’s ad reviews the flaws in Biden’s record that bely his recent claim to the progressive moniker: his vote for the Iraq war in 2002, support for the Hyde Amendment, opposition to school busing (accompanied by a photo of him looking friendly with arch segregationist Strom Thurmond), authorship of a 1994 crime bill and recent minimization of growing economic inequality.
Gavel may fade quickly – but the attack is likely an enduring template for other spots to come from Biden’s better funded competitors as the fight for the nomination heats up.
The clip begins with a montage of some of the most illustrious men and women to secure or seek the Democratic nomination – Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jesse Jackson and Shirley Chisholm – overlaid with two questions: “Who do you want to lead our party next? Following in the footsteps of giants?”
The video then pans to a shot of Biden, and leaves the viewer with a question: “This man?”
Gravel’s ad reviews the flaws in Biden’s record that bely his recent claim to the progressive moniker: his vote for the Iraq war in 2002, support for the Hyde Amendment, opposition to school busing (accompanied by a photo of him looking friendly with arch segregationist Strom Thurmond), authorship of a 1994 crime bill and recent minimization of growing economic inequality.
Gavel may fade quickly – but the attack is likely an enduring template for other spots to come from Biden’s better funded competitors as the fight for the nomination heats up.