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Bush's first ad for re-election focuses on past three years
March 3, 2004

The ads include images of the wreckage from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and declining stock market numbers as they seek to portray Bush as a president who has faced both foreign and domestic problems and emerged as a leader on both fronts. (Bush campaign)

Arlington, VA. — (AP) President Bush talks about his hope for the future in his re-election campaign's first television ads but mainly focuses on the national security and economic challenges America has faced during his three years in office.

The ads include images of the wreckage from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and declining stock market numbers as they seek to portray Bush as a president who has faced both foreign and domestic problems and emerged as a leader on both fronts.

"I know exactly where I want to lead this country," the Republican incumbent says in one ad. "I'm optimistic about America because I believe in the people of America."

The Bush-Cheney re-election team unveiled the ads Wednesday, a day before they will start running on broadcast channels in media markets in 17 states that are expected to be competitive and nationwide on select cable networks.

Advisers say the ads are meant to show that the country is safer and stronger today because of Bush and to make the case that the Republican's policies have put America on the right path.

"We thought it important to start with a setting the table of where the country's been over the last three years," said Matthew Dowd, the campaign's chief strategist.

Dowd described the ads - one 60-second spot and three 30-second spots, including one in Spanish - as the beginning of a conversation that will last until the election. He said commercials will air consistently but not necessarily everyday until Nov. 2.

The commercials are the first phase in what is expected to be a multimillion-dollar advertising onslaught. Bush has more than $100 million in the bank, and a large part of that will be spent on TV ads over the next few months.

Carrying the slogan - "Steady leadership in times of change" - the ads are positive and include soothing background music, not unlike those done for Bush in 2000. Maverick Media, headed by Bush media adviser Mark McKinnon, produced the spots as it did four years ago.

In the 60-second ad, the president and the first lady sit side-by-side at the White House talking about what they believe the nation needs in a president. "The strength, the focus, the characteristics that these times demand," Laura Bush says.

A 30-second ad, which relies mostly on written phrases and also is filmed in Spanish, marks major milestones in the nation's recent history starting with Bush's inauguration in January 2001. What follows are images of scrolling stock market numbers and an Internet address, and footage of the wreckage from the World Trade Center and firefighters carrying a flag-draped casket.

The third ad, also at 30 seconds, shows Bush at the beginning and end only, and mainly includes portraits of people of all ages and races as it focus on values of "freedom, faith, families and sacrifice." It also includes wreckage from the terrorist attacks.

An announcer talks about how "the last few years have tested America in many ways" but also how "America rose to the challenge" with Bush at the helm.

At some point, the ads will turn sharply critical of presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry and one line of attack may include contrasting the Massachusetts senator's long record with his rhetoric on the campaign trail. The Bush-Cheney campaign would not say when the positive ads would turn negative.

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