AdWatch: News Channel 7 Examines Hagan Response to Dole "Godless" Ad

News Channel 7 AdWatch examines the political candidates' commercials and looks for the truth.

Tonight we spotlight the United States Senate race in North Carolina.

Thursday (10/30) during News Channel 7 at 11, we showed you Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole's ad, titled "Godless," that prompted Democratic challenger Kay Hagan to sue her for defamation and libel.

AdWatch now examines Hagan's response ad, titled "sad."

This is the script for the advertisement: "ANNOUNCER: It's come down to this. Newspapers say Elizabeth Dole's attacks are desperate and jump into the deep end of the slim pool. She's ineffective... Never home... Putting the special interests first. That's Senator Dole's record, and it's sad it came to this. KAY HAGAN: I'm Kay Hagan, and we know this negative stuff won't create one new job, lower gas prices or protect your savings. I approved this message because turning our economy around starts with bringing people together."

News Channel 7's political experts examined the Hagan ad.

Rob Jeffrey of Wofford College has these comments: "... I do think the 'sad it's come to this' approach is effective, though the dismissal of Dole's record in the first part of the ad may be heavy-handed. Interestingly, Hagan never denies or attempts to refute the charges in the Dole ad. If I were Dole, I would seize on this. The ad's response to Dole's charge is really in the last phrase of the ad, where Hagan attempts to connect bringing our economy back with 'bringing people together.' I think Hagan had to respond; her ad is moderately effective. It does remind people of the first ad. In the end, the question remains what swingable voters thought of the initial ad."

Also critiquing the Hagan ad is Trevor Rubenzer of USC-Upstate: "The Hagan ad has two basics assertions. One is that the Dole ads show the desperation of a losing campaign. The other set of assertions center around Doles 'ineffectiveness' as a Senator.

"On the desperation issue, it is true that the media and political pundits have largely condemned the 'Godless' ad as an act of desperation and over-the-line negativity. It is also true that Dole was behind in the polls when she started running the ad. However, it does appear that, in spite of this condemnation, the ad has worked to a degree. The polls have tightened in this race... The overall lesson is that negative ads can work by increasing doubts about a candidate amongst independents.

"On the effectiveness issue, there are two major claims. One is Dole is rarely present in North Carolina. This is true, but difficult to quantify. However, the same thing is true of most senators. The American electoral system tends to insulate senators from the people they represent. As a result, senators spend to spend less time in their districts than do members of the House of Representatives.

Rubenzer adds, "The second claim is that Dole 'puts the special interests first.' The citation in the ad refers to a cloture vote in the Senate on an amendment that would have given the Environmental Protection Agency more power to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases. While it is true that Dole opposed this provision, it is also true that a majority of Republicans also opposed the provision. As a result, it appears that the vote was a party line vote rather than being based on special interests. For Hagan's argument to have validity, it would have to be the case that Dole would have voted for the regulations absent of interest group lobbying. There is little to suggest that this is what happened. Democrats tend to favor increased environmental regulation, while Republicans tend to oppose regulations. It is normally the case that interest groups contribute to those who already agree with them, rather than using money and lobbying power as a way to buy votes."

The latest CNN poll shows Hagan with 53 percent support and Dole 44 percent.
Rasmussen's latest poll puts Hagan at 52 percent and Dole 46 percent.