Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama calls for hope and change in his first New Hampshire TV ad, which airs today.
The minute-long ad, titled "Believe," features Obama standing near a window in what looks like a living room, walking toward the camera as he speaks.
Drawing on a major campaign theme, he contrasts his sense of hope with the attitude of the "cynics in Washington."
"They don't believe we can actually change politics and bring an end to decades of division and deadlock. They don't believe we can limit the power of lobbyists who block our progress or that we can trust the American people with the truth," Obama says in the ad, which was first aired last week in Iowa. "My experience tells me something very different."
In the ad, Obama touts his 20 years of experience in public service, in which he says he united Democrats and Republicans, took on drug and insurance companies and won, and opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. He concludes, "I approve this message to ask you to believe - not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington. I'm asking you to believe in yours."
Campaign spokesman Reid Cherlin said the ad is meant to be a continuation of Obama's direct conversations with voters. "He's delivering the message that the campaign's got to be about all of us," Cherlin said. "That he's confident in the vision that we can change the country together."
Cherlin declined to specify when and where the ad would run, saying only that it is a "substantial state buy-in."
In state polls, Obama has been running consistently behind Hillary Clinton, who ran her first New Hampshire TV ad earlier this month. A July poll by CNN, WMUR and the University of New Hampshire had Clinton ahead 33 percent to 25 percent, and more recent state polls cited on the website pollster.com found even larger differences.
When asked about the poll numbers, Cherlin said that he thinks the ad will successfully communicate Obama's message and that he "feels good about the organization and enthusiasm everywhere in the state."
St. Anselm College associate professor Andrew Moore, who teaches a course on the American presidency, said Obama's challenge in his first ad will be to counteract the notion that Clinton has the nomination sewn up. "Obama needs to send a message that he's a legitimate alternative to her, one that's not as divisive as she is, that he's for hope and positive change, for working together," Moore said.
Moore said Obama must remind voters of his strengths in the general election, as a candidate who is less polarizing than Clinton, without being seen as an "attack dog."
He said an ad like this one, which focuses on Obama's image more than any specific policies, is a good start. "If voters are not prepared to accept a person or their image as legitimate, they probably won't listen to their ideas," Moore said.
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By SHIRA SCHOENBERG
Monitor staff