A minute long video launched by the Rick Perry Campaign on Oct. 9 comes down hard on rival Mitt Romney, bashing the healthcare law which Romney championed as Governor of Massachusetts and
comparing Romney’s law to ‘Obamacare’. The dramatic advertisement, which looks more like a movie trailer than a political ad, goes on to show clips of interviews with Former Governor Romney in which he has different stances on whether he supports a similar law on a national level.
The Romney campaign responded by releasing the full transcript of the interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an attempt to show that footage used in the video was taken out of context. The advertisement also brings up a line, which was deleted in newer versions of Romney’s book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness. The hardcover version of the book features the line “We can accomplish the same thing for everyone in the country,” which does not appear in the paperback version. The paperback version was released in Feb. 2011, 11 months after the first hardcover publishing. Perry also brought up the line deletion at the Sept. 22 Republican Candidate debate.
The video also appears to use an official White House photo, in violation of the White House’s Flickr feed terms of use, which state: “This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, or promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.”
The shot in question is one of President Obama standing looking at himself in the mirror. In the video the shot appears and then there is a clap of thunder and Obama’s image is replaced with Romney’s. In a letter to The Politico, Ray Sullivan, communications director for Perry’s campaign, said the photo came from a publicly available source, other than the White House. Sullivan adds “there is nothing that would suggest the President endorses the contents of our new ad.”
The ad can be seen on the Rick Perry Campaign’s website rickperry.org or on their YouTube page at youtube.com/rperry2012. With the early caucuses and primaries just over two months away, the battle for the Republican nomination is shaping up to be an intense battle.
