 November 29, 2007
Posted: 05:10 PM ET
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) – During the CNN/YouTube debate on Wednesday, former Sen. Fred Thompson made waves by becoming the first Republican candidate to air a negative attack ad in the 2008 race. Each candidate was asked to produce a 30-second YouTube-style ad to air during the debate, but unlike his opponents’, Thompson’s didn’t feature himself. Instead, it went after Mitt Romney for changing his views on abortion and Mike Huckabee for his tax policy while governor of Arkansas. Asked why he felt the need to make a negative ad, Thompson replied, “It’s interesting to me that it’s considered to be a negative ad when you play somebody else’s words.” He added, “The point is that time and time again with regards to Mayor Giuliani and Gov. Romney and Gov. Huckabee, their positions today are different than positions that they’ve had throughout their political careers.” Thompson argued that by drawing a contrast between past and present, he was helping the public come to a decision about the candidates, “I thought that I was doing [the candidates] a favor letting the audience see their own words, not something that I said about them.” Immediately following the airing of the clip, Romney responded, as he has many times on the campaign trail, that he was wrong on abortion. Since the debate, Huckabee has asserted that the clip of him was taken out of context. – CNN Nevada Producer Alexander Marquardt Filed under: Fred Thompson • TV ads
|
 
About The Ticker
The latest political news from CNN's Best Political Team, with campaign coverage, 24-7. Sign up for our twice daily Ticker emails. Got a news tip or feedback? For complete political coverage, bookmark CNNPolitics.com.  CNN=Politics Screensaver
New in the Ticker
Follow us on Twitter
Categories
Popular Posts
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
CNN Comment Policy: CNN encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. Please note that CNN makes reasonable efforts to review all comments prior to posting and CNN may edit comments for clarity or to keep out questionable or off-topic material. All comments should be relevant to the post and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNN the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying information via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. CNN Privacy Statement.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
