Ad Watch: Brown's military service highlighted

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charlie Brown is again running for the Democratic nomination for the 4th Congressional District seat now held by Republican Rep. John Doolittle of Roseville.

This week Brown, who nearly defeated Doolittle last November, began running his first radio ad of the campaign. The ad features wounded Iraq war veteran Cody Conway talking about Brown's concerns for veterans and how he is using his campaign to raise money for them.

The following is a text of the ad and an analysis by David Whitney of the McClatchy Washington Bureau.

•MARINE CORPS SGT. CODY CONWAY: The war isn't over when we come back from Iraq and Afghanistan. There's a whole different war that we're fighting, and it's a war that only veterans know.

My name is Cody Conway. In 2003, I was injured in Iraq. When I came back, I was alone more than anything. People noticed how much I had changed.

Charlie Brown understood where I was coming from and he was actually willing to listen.

Because he's been in combat. Because he's fought for our country, there's nobody better.

He would much rather give you the shirt off his back than a speech of how he should be congressman.

Charlie Brown is donating 5 percent of every dollar he raises to help veterans to help their families. Nobody has ever done that.

Leaders don't wait for the next election to make a difference. Go to Charliebrownforcongress.org to learn more about the Promises Kept Veterans Charity Challenge.

•ANALYSIS: With no declared opponent in the June Democratic primary, Brown is now an established contender who even Republicans think has a credible shot at capturing the House seat if scandal-tarred Doolittle is in the November general election.

Brown is trying to rise above the image of second-time challenger. This ad seizes on his long involvement with veterans to portray him as a politician who walks the talk. It also serves to help Brown, criticized by Doolittle throughout the 2006 race as too liberal for the conservative 4th District, emphasize his support for the military.

Brown's campaign is aiming to raise as much as $2.5 million, and that means that $125,000 could be funneled to veterans organizations to help returning soldiers deal with post-traumatic stress, drug and alcohol addictions and other combat-related problems that often result in homelessness.

Brown's Promises Kept effort falls within mainstream Democratic policies as House and Senate leaders blast the Bush administration for ignoring returning veterans. But it also harks back to the 2005-2006 election cycle during which Doolittle was paying his wife a 15 percent fundraising commission. Here Brown is saying his campaign is a conduit for public service.

About the writer:

• Call David Whitney, McClatchy Washington Bureau, (202) 383-0004.