JOHN MCCAIN 2008 LAUNCHES NEW TELEVISION AD, "CONSIDER"

U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today launched a new television ad in New Hampshire, entitled "Consider," responding to Mitt Romney's negative attack ad.
"Consider" will run on New Hampshire and Boston television.

VIEW THE NEW AD HERE: http://www.johnmccain.com/tvads/

Script for "Consider" (:30-TV)

JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.
ANNCR: As you hear Mitt Romney attack John McCain, consider these words from New Hampshire newspapers.
The Union Leader says John McCain has "conviction" and "Granite Staters want a candidate who will look them in the eye and tell them the truth."
"John McCain has done that."
"Mitt Romney has not."
The Concord Monitor writes, "If a candidate is a phony ... we'll know it."
"Mitt Romney is such a candidate."
That's why Romney's hometown newspaper says the "choice is clear:" John McCain.

AD FACTS: JOHN MCCAIN 2008, "CONSIDER"

New Hampshire Union Leader: "[Romney] Lacks Something John McCain Has In Spades: Conviction. Granite Staters Want A Candidate Who Will Look Them In The Eye And Tell Them The Truth. John McCain Has Done That Day In And Day Out, Never Wavering, Never Faltering, Never Pandering. Mitt Romney Has Not." "And after a year of comparing Romney to McCain, of sizing up the two in person and in the media, Granite Staters are turning back to McCain. The former Navy pilot, once written off by the national media establishment, is now in a statistical dead heat with Romney here. How could that be? Romney has all the advantages: money, organization, geographic proximity, statesman-like hair, etc. But he lacks something John McCain has in spades: conviction. Granite Staters want a candidate who will look them in the eye and tell them the truth. John McCain has done that day in and day out, never wavering, never faltering, never pandering. Mitt Romney has not. He has spoken his lines well, but the people can sense that the words are memorized, not heartfelt. ... In this primary, the more Mitt Romney speaks, the less believable he becomes. ... Voters can see that John McCain is trustworthy. Mitt Romney has spent a year trying to convince Granite Staters that he is as well. It looks like they aren't buying it. And for good reason." (Editorial, "The Romney Backlash: Conservatives Are Coming Home," New Hampshire Union Leader, 12/26/07)

Concord Monitor: "If A Candidate Is A Phony, We Assure Ourselves And The Rest Of The World, We'll Know It. Mitt Romney Is Such A Candidate." "When New Hampshire partisans are asked to defend the state's first-in-the-nation primary, we talk about our ability to see the candidates up close, ask tough questions and see through the baloney. If a candidate is a phony, we assure ourselves and the rest of the world, we'll know it. Mitt Romney is such a candidate." (Editorial, "Romney Should Not Be The Next President," Concord Monitor, 12/28/07)

Boston Herald: "Choice Is Clear: McCain's The One." "There are times in this nation's history so perilous that they cry out for a steady, experienced leader, a person so trusted that we would put the fate of this country in his hands. This is one of those times, and Sen. John McCain is that person. He has a brand of courage that is rare in the public arena these days -- a courage forged in part by those years spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and in part by more than two decades of fighting for what he believes in on the floor of the U.S. Senate. In an age when too many candidates are driven by polls and focus groups, fashioning and re-fashioning their 'core' beliefs, McCain is a man of unwavering conviction and integrity. His values, his beliefs, his goals are what they were when he first entered public life, what they were in 2000 and what they will be a decade from now." (Editorial, "Choice Is Clear: McCain's The One," Boston Herald, 12/20/07)