California Insider

The governor's campaign has just rolled out a commercial they must have had in the can to respond to the Angelides ad linking Schwarzenegger and Bush. The Schwarzenegger ad opens with the question, "Where does Phil Angelides live?" Then, cueing the now-familiar shot of Angelides walking backward, the announce says, "All he talks about is President Bush." The ad then shows scenes of the coast, Yosemite, Los Angeles and San Francisco while lecturing that "this race is about the future of California. Serious issues require serious discussion. It's a choice between Phil Angelides and our governor." Then it makes a quick pitch for Schwarzenegger before finally showing him, and it's over.

Interesting that they feel they have to respond to the Bush connection rather than simply ignoring it and letting the governor's policies speak for themselves. I'm guessing that their polling and/or focus groups must show that he is indeed vulernable there.

Will this ad change that? Hard to say. Like most of the Schwarzenegger ads, it has a feel that is different from typical political commercials, more of a narrative tone than you normally find in such ads. And it's intriguing that Arnold Schwarzenegger is, in effect, accusing Phil Angelides of being unserious. That's something nobody would have bet on a year or two ago. To the extent that independent voters see Angelides as overly partisan and negative, that will probably hurt the challenger, and that's what this ad sets out to do. I guess I don't have very strong feelings about whether it will work.

I can answer the ad's question, though. Angelides lives a couple of blocks from me just outside of downtown Sacramento.

Steve Maviglio gives his take on the Cali press corps, and its relationship with the Schwarzenegger team, from his perspective after spending his summer vacation working in the Angelides war room. His post is on the California Democratic Majority web site, a new bloggish vehicle for the party and its activists.

The long-awaited Angelides ad linking Schwarzenegger to Bush is now going on the air. It's officially sponsored by the Democratic Party, on whose site you can view it here. Click on the ad titled "You."

The commercial features a clip of Schwarzenegger campaigning for Bush in Ohio, and repeats the governor's voice chanting "George W. Bush." Between each repetition of the chant, the ad cites a malady brought about by the president: troops stuck in Iraq, rising gas prices, bigger deficits.

It concludes: "Arnold Schwarzenegger's for George W. Bush. Is he for you?"

Seems like a fairly effective ad, especially for partisans. It might help Angelides shore up his support within his own party, which is weaker than it should be.

I'm not sure how it will play with California independents who are increasingly down on the president even as they like their Republican governor. I think whenever you use campaign rally footage against your opponent you have to be careful. There is cheering in the background as Schwarzenegger speaks, and even though it is cheering for a president now very unpopular here, that enthusiasm sends an underlying positive message that could contradict the negative message the ad is trying to communicate on the surface. The footage also depicts political loyalty. Yes, it is loyalty to a figure many Californians despise, but loyalty is a positive trait to many people, and I think, again, this creates a subtle contradiction of messages as you watch the ad. I'm probably over-analyzing it, but I think the message -- Schwarzenegger is for Bush and not for you -- could be communicated more effectively than it is here, without the distractions. A little more distance, a little more newsy, perhaps.

This ad will remind the most partisan Democrats of why they don't like Schwarzenegger. But its obvious guilt-by-association motif may not play as well with open-minded independents.