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Friday September 21, 5:05 AMObama Cites Mother's Illness in New AdDetails of a television ad released Thursday by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign. TITLE: "Mother." LENGTH: 30 seconds. AIRING: Iowa. SCRIPT: Barack Obama: "My mother died of cancer at 53. In those last painful months she was more worried about paying her medical bills than getting well. I hear stories like hers every day. For twenty years Washington's talked about health care reform and reformed nothing. I've got a plan to cut costs and cover everyone. But unless we stop the bickering and the lobbyists, we'll be in the same place 20 years from now." Signoff: "I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message because to fix health care we have to fix Washington." KEY IMAGES: A photograph of Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, holding a young Barack. Then Obama appears in suit and tie seated by windows through which one can see sun-dappled trees. As he talks about hearing stories like his mother's, black and white images appear of Obama in campaign settings talking to individual voters. A legend at the bottom of the screen says: "Read the Health Care Plan - Iowa.BarackObama.com/healthcare" ANALYSIS: By referring to his mother, who died in 1995, Obama seeks to personalize the debate over health care, an issue that resurfaced this week after his chief rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, unveiled her proposal. The ad's target is clearly Clinton. His complaint that Washington has talked about health care without making reforms is a reminder of the failed plan for universal care that Clinton undertook during the first two years of her husband's presidency. His mention of lobbyists is an oblique reference to his decision not to accept contributions from lobbyists while Clinton does. But though he claims to have "a plan to cut costs and cover everyone," Obama does not require everyone to have insurance. Clinton and rival John Edwards have such a requirement. Independent analysts of Obama's plan have said it would increase coverage for Americans, but would not provide universal coverage. Obama has said that by reducing the cost of coverage, everyone could afford to pay for it. His campaign says Obama would find a way to cover those who remain uninsured, but does not specify how. The campaign also points out that mandated insurance does not guarantee everyone will get it, noting for example that in states where auto insurance is required by law, a significant percentage of drivers remain uninsured. ___ Analysis by Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press writer. |
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