With less than five weeks until Iowa voters hit the polls to kick off the Republican presidential race, the leading candidates in the race unleashed barrages of ads hitting television stations across the country and the Internet.
Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts unveiled two new ads running in Iowa, which holds the first presidential caucus Jan. 3, and in New Hampshire. The Iowa ad indicates Romney plans to compete in the Hawkeye State, where he placed second back in the 2008 race.
"After watching Mitt evade, distort, and eventually blame Bret's questions, it's no wonder he is Scared Mittless of the press. When you are on both sides of every issue, it makes it hard to answer tough questions, Huntsman spokesman Tim Miller said Thursday. More importantly, can Republican voters trust Mitt Romney to beat Barack Obama when he can't even defend his own record?"
Huntsman was not the only Republican to launch an attack this week.
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, now making his third bid for the White House and his second attempt at the Republican presidential nomination, took the gloves off on Wednesday and ripped into primary rival former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
I am going to describe a candidate for you right now, and I want you to think about whether or not you would support him, Paul wrote his supporters. This candidate was for the individual mandate that served as the model for Obamacare. He was originally for the TARP bank bailouts before he was against them. He joined with Nancy Pelosi to promote the antibusiness global warming agenda. He slammed Paul Ryan's budget plan as extreme, calling it right-wing social engineering.
You might think I am talking about Mitt Romney. Heck, you might think I'm talking about a liberal Democrat. But I'm not, continued Paul. That candidate I'm talking about is Newt Gingrich. He is what I like to call a counterfeit conservative. And I have barely even scratched the surface!
The Paul camp released a Web video attacking Gingrich who is now leading in many state and national polls.
Another Texas Republican -- Gov. Rick Perry -- also hit the airwaves with an attack ad on Thursday. Perry takes aim at President Barack Obama in the ad, linking the incumbent with Jimmy Carter
"Our country's reliance on unstable foreign nations as energy sources is dangerous," said Ray Sullivan, a spokesman for Perry on Thursday. "Governor Perry's top priority for revitalizing domestic energy is becoming energy independent. This new ad underscores his commitment to utilizing all of our country's national energy sources and creating American jobs."
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
