David Axelrod continued his effort to downplay the Obama campaign’s negativity suggesting that the Romney campaign has been more negative Monday during an appearance with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Cooper pressed Axelrod about research by media consultants found the Obama campaign had aired over 19,000 negative ads in the past week alone and positive ads less than 150 times.
“Can that really be considered a slew?” Cooper asked in response to Axelrod’s assertion that the Obama campaign has aired a “slew” of positive ads.
Axelrod then attempted to suggest that the Obama campaign had only begun its media campaign in May when it ran “nothing but positive ads.”
However, Axelrod’s assertion glosses over the fact the Obama campaign began its attack on Romney’s role with Bain Capital in May several ads. These included an ad titled “Romney Economics” slamming him for his role in shutting down an office-supply company, and the Obama campaign’s infamous “vampire” ad, suggesting that Romney “came in and sucked the life out of” Kansas City, Mo. steelworkers when Bain shut down GST Steel.
These ads made numerous centrist Democrats such as Newark,N.J. Mayor Cory Booker, former Rep. Harold Ford Jr., former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and former President Bill Clinton so uncomfortable that they called out the Obama campaign on them.
The senior Obama campaign strategist attempted to spin his campaign’s negative advertising as “comparative ads” pointing out the differences between President Obama and Mitt Romney on issues like taxes.
“We’ve spent $50 million of more on positive ads,” Axelrod said. “In contrast, if you look at the other side 90 percent of their media dollars from the very beginning have been spent on negative ads.
“The whole premise of the Romney campaign is a negative premise.”
But Cooper wouldn’t let Axelrod get away with his line of attack, suggesting that three-quarters of the Obama campaign’s ads have been negative. To which Axelrod sought to deflect, blurting out, “Their campaign,” as if to throw Cooper off balance.
“The president’s going all over the country to talk about how we rebuild the middle class in this country and rebuild the economy,” Axelrod said.
