Daily Political Read-In
W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 12 -- — Once again, the Bush campaign is being knocked off-message by a buzz over a Republican National Committee TV ad.
This time, a spot touting George W. Bush’s prescription drug plan contains a frame showing the word “RATS” in huge letters. A sharp-eyed Democratic voter apparently spotted the word in the ad and notified Al Gore’s campaign, which provided a slowed-down tape to The New York Times.
Though Gore would not comment this morning, his running mate, Sen. Joe Lieberman, called the development “disappointing” and “strange.”
This morning on ABCNEWS’ Good Morning America, Bush insisted that the first he’d heard of this new ad flap was this morning. The Texas governor called the suggestion that it may have been an attempt to send a subliminal message a “bizarre accusation,” saying, “We don’t need to be manufacturing subliminal messages to get my message out.”
At an event later, Bush said the ad was scheduled to come down anyway.
ABCNEWS’ John Berman reports that after Bush’s Good Morning America appearance, during an unscheduled stop at Howley’s Restaurant in West Palm Beach, Fla., a customer asked the Republican candidate about the ad. “They’ll read everything into anything,” Bush said, referring to Democrats.
Also on Good Morning America, Bush repeated his comments on running mate Dick Cheney’s failure to vote in many Texas elections, insisting that he will be a great vice president. Asked whether he has dyslexia, as suggested by Gail Sheehy’s Vanity Fair article, Bush said he has not read the story and that “this is a case where fiction is greater than fact. The story rambles around guessing. No, I’m not dyslexic, that’s all I can tell you.”
Where Are They Now?
Bush today campaigns coast to coast. He started off with the Good Morning America interview from Palm Beach, then headed to Orlando to talk more about his Medicare plan. By midday, he will be in St. Louis for a “one-on-one” event before heading to Everett, Wash.
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