[PEN-L:6751] Re: Retraction of Clinton Ad...

[Bill Moore <billkatt@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 17 Oct 1996, Doug Henwood wrote:

> Nice to see they're repudiating it, but still one must be suspicious.
> Bush's people always denied responsibility for the Willie Horton ads,
> saying they were done and paid for by forces independent of the campaign.
> If there's one thing Clinton's people know how to do, it's campaign. Are
> their subcontractors *that* out of their control?

I haven't seen any further discussion of this on the Clinton List, so
can't answer your question.  My experiences working in campaigns in the
past suggest that "subcontractors" can indeed exceed guidelines,
policies, and controls -- especially when campaigning in "enemy"
territory like the subject radio ads which were being run in Kansas and
other selected Plains states markets.

> Another point: you may not like the phrasing of the ad, but he did do the
> things (sign DOMA, support the ban on "partial birth" abortions, advocate
> curfews & school uniforms, etc.) the copy brags about. Or was that done by
> somebody unauthorized by the "real" Clinton, the inner liberal so painfully
> constrained by the "Gingrich Republicans"?

You mean Willy Jeff, as opposed to Bill...

> Oh, and by the way, the last line of the transcript said "Paid for by
> Clinton/Gore '96." Is that a rogue operation within the official campaign?

No doubt.

Bill the Cat in the Merely An Observer This Time Hat