Dog Stars in Ads for Md. Candidates
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 3:00 p.m. ET
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Talk about a dogged race -- a Boston terrier is starring in campaign ads for both the Democrat and Republican in Maryland's Senate contest.
Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele started the puppy parade earlier this month, airing a commercial that poked fun at negative advertising. He is running against Democratic Rep. Ben Cardin to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Paul Sarbanes.
In an ad campaign worth $606,350 that included spots in Baltimore and Washington, Steele said, ''Soon your TV will be jammed with negative ads from the Washington crowd.'' An image of a fictional newspaper with the headline, ''STEELE HATES PUPPIES,'' then flashed on the screen. Later in the ad, Steele tells viewers, ''For the record, I love puppies.''
Campaign aides said Steele is a dog owner, but the black-and-white Boston terrier in the ad isn't his.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee responded with an ad this week that shows a clip of Steele's ad in which he puts an arm around the dog: ''It's nice to know that Michael Steele likes puppies. But he's running for the United States Senate,'' the announcer says.
The Democrats' ad shows pictures of Steele with an arm around President Bush, who is unpopular in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1. The ad mentions the issues on which Bush and Steele agree -- opposition to abortion rights and to increased federal funds for some embryonic stem-cell research. It ends with Bush and Steele in a red heart-shaped frame: ''Michael Steele: He likes puppies, but he loves George Bush.''
The Democratic ad also ran in Baltimore and Washington, DSCC spokesman Phil Singer said, though he didn't say how many ads would run or for how long.
Think Steele would drop the puppy imagery after that? No. The same day Democrats skewered his puppy ad, his campaign put out a new ad, again featuring Steele and the terrier. Steele says, ''Nasty ads from the Washington crowd,'' then the dog growls. ''We don't think much of that.''
Meanwhile, Democrats have continued to skewer Steele's canine buddy. At a rally Wednesday for Cardin, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., told students he supported the white Democrat, not the black Republican.
''My sense is, he's an affable guy,'' Obama said of Steele. ''I bet he likes puppies. But I tell you, that's not what this election is about.''
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new voter guide encourages Catholics to consider a wide range of issues -- not just abortion -- when deciding whether to support a candidate.
The 12-page guide is being distributed by Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote the Catholic social tradition. The group plans to give out 1 million copies.
It does not endorse candidates. Instead, it encourages Catholics to listen to their conscience, apply prudence and vote for the common good because Catholics ''seldom, if ever, have the opportunity to vote for candidate with the right positions on all issues important to Catholics.''
The guide says it's never acceptable to vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights ''merely because of that candidate's position in favor of legal abortion.''
But it warns that some candidates may claim to be opposed to abortion, but not act on the belief. Others, it says, don't believe in making abortion illegal, but support measures to promote healthy families and reduce abortions.
''Catholics must look at a candidate's position on other life issues,'' the guides says. ''Can one really claim to be 'pro-life' and yet support the death penalty, turn a blind eye to poverty, and not take steps to avoid war? Our church teaches that the answer to this question is no.''
Alexia Kelley, executive director of the organization, said there are an estimated 77 million Catholics in the United States.
''As we all know, Catholic voters have been flooded in recent years by efforts to narrow church teaching down for political ends and these efforts often focus on issues without explaining the deeper values that inform Catholic positions,'' Kelley said.
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On the Net:
Steele's puppy ads: steeleformaryland.com
Democratic puppy ad: dscc.org
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good: thecatholicalliance.org |
