Controversial pro-Obama ad hasn't actually run yet
Washington (CNN) - It's grabbing a lot of media attention, but a new controversial television commercial from an independent group supporting President Barack Obama's re-election has not yet run as a paid advertisement on TV.
The ad, announced yesterday by the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action, appears to blame Republican challenger Mitt Romney for the cancer death of the wife of a man who was laid off from a steel mill after the company he worked for, GST Steel, was shut down by Bain Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Romney.
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A closer look by CNN poked holes into the ad's timeline.
While the spot has garnered plenty of media attention over the past 24 hours, the commercial apparently has yet to actually run.
The group said Tuesday the ad, titled "Understands," was part of their current $20 million television and online buy, and that the 60-second spot would run in the battleground states of Iowa, Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio.
Priorities USA told CNN Wednesday that the ad "hasn't started running yet but will soon."
- CNN's Paul Steinhauser and Brianna Keilar contributed to this story
Talk about saving money! I've seen the ad 2 or 3 times on cable TV, and it was aired as "news" – totally free to the ad's creator. Brilliant. BTW, yes, it hits hard. Too hard? Think back to "Scarface": "You wanna PLAY ROUGH?!"
This dude loses his job and his wife gets stricken with cancer. It's Romney's fault. Only an Odumbo supporter would buy this garbage. This stupid ad is not going to sway a single independent voter, it's like throwing more Koolaid to the Odumbo dolts who are already drunk on it. DNC is pathetic, they need to be purged from Govt. if we ever hope to have a chance again.
And the swiftboating of Romney has now begun. And it will make what the GOP did to Kerry look like a child's party.
It is an ad I wouldn't run ... ever.
I'm no Romney fan- but if you have facts about the timeline- that IS the story!
Who is the editor at CNN.COM?
You re there to report and inform. No wonder Americans have no clue what or who they are voting for.
To quote Mitt Romney "These are real people".......and his actions in the past had real consequences for them. Time and again, he and his cohorts laughed all the way to the bank (a Swiss bank at that) while leaving people's lives in a shambles behind them. Frankly, I don't know how the man can sleep at night.
I wonder how the President explains these ads to his girls?
The Obama administration told law enforcement authorities to go easy on Occupy Wall Street protesters, even though they were violating local laws, according to documents obtained by watchdog group Judicial Watch.
If they run this ad, they're crazier than I thought.
I am sorry for this guys loss, but did his wife have ins??? how long after he got laid off she did get Sick??? Im sorry but this is really pathedic. This guy and Oblunder should be ashamed of themselves. May the dear lady RIP. how long was bain able to keep it going after the unions ripped off all the savings???
Obama and Democrats have sunk to all time lows in their desperate attempt to cling to power after 4 years of abject failure. Smears. lies, McCarty tactics and now this. Seriousl America, you want these types of people running your government???
Joe the Plumber vs. Joe the Janitor would make a great SNL skit.
When is the Obama campaign going to run on the President's record?
The record is actually awesome, when the President's policies were being allowed to work. (See first year and a half financial data.)
Dump the reppug Congressmen, and the USA will prosper.
After the negative attention it has received, I sincerely doubt it will.
There is no limit to how low the dems will stoop...or degree to which they'll twist themselves (and the facts) into pretzels...in order to smear Romney. Truly, truly pathetic.
Fair is Fair wrote:
If they run this ad, they're crazier than I thought.
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They're not. Reports from people who sell ad time say that it is not scheduled at all....so far. So far, the media is giving it all of the free air time that they might have wished for. But, I do think it is a little bit over the line of decency.
Just for the record, the Obama campaign cannot in any way coordinate with this, or any, superpack.
But don't let the facts get in the way ( why start now?? ); just blame Obama.
Bill from GA - Dump the reppug Congressmen, and the USA will prosper
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But almost all the new jobs have been created AFTER the Republicans took control of the House and stopped Obama and the Democrats from damaging the economy any further. So you want to go back to job LOSSES with the Democrats???
An Inconveneient Truth: 40,000 peole die in the USA each year because they don't have Health Insurance. That IS News worthy of reporting.
So Dem's attack the GOP with GOP's own swiftboating and suddenly they sputter around with Ob...Obama...OBAMALONEY.
Romney's a joke, Romney is the best of the worst grouping of candidates to likely ever come from a republican primary (other than Huntsman). The only thing keeping Mitt in this race is the economy, if the GOP wasn't blocking of threatening to filibuster job bills until the election for Romney would have been over already.
"You people don't need to know any more..."
"I like to fire people..."
"Israel prospers because of culture..."
"Moment of silence for the Sheik..."
"I was only sole stake holder and ceo, i signed papers and didn't bother reading them..."
I can't understand how republicans can vote for Romney, use some common sense! If you aren't abstaining, just vote 3rd party. He's raising taxes on the middle and lower class, he's lowering the taxes on the rich, hes gutting healthcare, hes gutting social security, hes gutting so many things you people need and take for granted.
If you let Romney get elected, you are going to get exactly what you deserve.
Go blame yourself for your wife, because when a man doesnt do everything to help his wife then he is not a man, but the problem, so the problem was you not Romney, so Mister, You Are To Blame !
"But almost all the new jobs have been created AFTER the Republicans took control of the House and stopped Obama and the Democrats from damaging the economy any further. So you want to go back to job LOSSES with the Democrats???"
The current house has a record number of bills blocked. If republicans weren't in control and legislation actually passed we would be in a much better position than we are now.
That ad should not run. All of this mudslinging is sick.
But with that said....that ad sure did get a lot of airtime for not actually running....
Only the people who WANT to believe this video will.
@Lynda/Minnesota: I agree.
@BEnd forward: Who's McCarty?