Rick Santorum's new machine-gun ad: Will it work?
Rick Santorum鈥檚 got a tough new ad out that depicts Mitt Romney as a machine-gun toting twit. Will it help Mr. Santorum withstand negative attacks from the Romney campaign in the crucial upcoming Michigan primary?
The 鈥淩ombo鈥� spot is about 30 seconds long and starkly simple. It shows a cackling Romney look-alike darting around a parking garage, firing mud from an automatic mud weapon at a cardboard cutout of Santorum.
鈥淩omney and his super PAC have spent a staggering $20 million brutally attacking fellow Republicans,鈥� says the ad narrator. 鈥淲hy? Because Romney鈥檚 trying to hide from his big-government RomneyCare, and his support for job-killing cap-and-trade.鈥�
At this point the gun jams 鈥� not surprising, it鈥檚 firing dirt slurry 鈥� and spits out a splotch onto fake Romney鈥檚 white shirt.
鈥淚n the end, Mitt Romney鈥檚 ugly attacks will backfire,鈥� the ad concludes.
One thing that goes unmentioned is that the Santorum target never gets hit. Romney fires and fires, yet the visage of the ex-Pennsylvania Senator stays as pure as Newt Gingrich鈥檚 self-image. Clever!
OK, we鈥檝e got this to say about the ad: if nothing else, it鈥檚 a mud shot across Romney鈥檚 bow. Santorum is not going to sit on his poll lead in Michigan and wait for Romney to come after him. He鈥檚 going to take some preemptive punches.
But the message here is just a little bit opaque. A casual viewer might think, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 going on here? Why is Mitt Romney smiling? Guns?鈥�
The obligatory 鈥淚鈥檓 Rick Santorum, and I approve this message鈥� is actually at the beginning of the ad, at least as seen on the web. Is this to make sure viewers know the point of the thing, and that it鈥檚 not a Romney ad of some kind? That was our impression.
Santorum鈥檚 further problem may be that he鈥檚 bringing a dirt gun to a tank fight. Sure, he鈥檚 risen in the polls, and he鈥檚 even ahead in Michigan, where Romney grew up and his dad was governor. But Romney鈥檚 got enough cash to blanket the airwaves of Detroit, Lansing, and Grand Rapids with his own message.
Politico reports today that the Romney campaign is devoting at least resources to the purchase of Michigan airtime prior to the state鈥檚 Feb. 28 vote. The pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future undoubtedly will spend millions more.
On the campaign trail Romney鈥檚 already double-flipping, hitting back at the Santorum spot that鈥檚 hitting Romney for hitting Santorum. (Or is that triple-flipping?)
鈥淭hat is the nature of politics, which is that you always accuse the other guy of doing what you鈥檝e done yourself,鈥� said Romney in a Wednesday morning Fox News appearance.
As to the natty Romney double in the ad, real Romney had this to say: 鈥淭he guy looked pretty good, didn鈥檛 he?鈥�
