Ad Wars: Obama, McCain Camps Deploy Television Tactics

Aug. 13, 2008— -- The political ads that the Democrats and Republicans aim at one another can pack a wallop with their obvious attacks, but they also contain images that deliver a subtle subtext.

In Democratic commercials, the often wise-cracking Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is pictured as an old, stern and unsmiling man.

A recent Republican attack ad, meanwhile, includes young white women gushing over Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., re-enforcing McCain's taunt that the Democrat is little more than a celebrity along the lines of gossip fodder Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

Critics have questioned whether pairing Obama with white women was a subtle attempt to raise racial prejudices, just as Republicans were accused of doing in the 2006 Senate race against Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., a black candidate who eventually lost.

"All we are suggesting is 'the kids think he's dreamy. But should he be president?'" McCain campaign senior adviser Mark Salter told ABC News' Jake Tapper.

McCain himself has stepped into the argument, insisting that his campaign isn't sending out "any negative message."

Pressed during an interview with National Public Radio about his Paris Hilton ad, the candidate said, "I strongly recommend that people who don't find humor in that: relax, turn off the computer, and ... get some fresh air."