Dems Call for Investigation of GOP 'Rats' Ad

W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 13 -- Accusing Republicans of using subliminal advertising, Democrats have called for a federal investigation of an attack ad that flashes the word “RATS” on screen for a split second.

The ad in question has already been pulled off the air by the Republican National Committee, but Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and John Breaux of Louisiana are petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to launch a full review of the matter.

“We have reason to believe that broadcasters are airingtelevision advertisements that contain subliminal messages inviolation of the public interest,” the two wrote in a letter sent late Tuesday.

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The controversial 30-second commercial touts Republican candidate George W. Bush’s plan for adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, arguing that seniors would have more control over their health care under Bush’s proposal.

Under the Gore plan, the ad says, drug coverage would be run by bureaucrats.

Words flash on the screen to echo the announcer’s message: “TheGore prescription plan: Bureaucrats decide.”

As the announcer says “Bureaucrats decide,” the word “RATS,” in large capital letters, flashes on the screen for one-thirtieth of a second, just before the phrase “Bureaucrats decide,” appears.

“If ads of this sort are in fact subliminal and they’re effective, that would seem to be contrary to the public interest,” said Josh Kardon, Sen. Wyden’s chief of staff. “If they are subliminal ads, we ought to know it.”

But the man who made the ad for the RNC denies he was trying to conduct psychological warfare.

“It’s a silly charge to try and get an effective ad off theair,” said Alex Castellanos, a veteran GOP consultant.

He said he faded in the word “bureaucrats” to make the ad visually interesting, and that it was just a coincidence that the word fragment used is also the name of a rodent.