New Hillary Clinton ads paint Bernie Sanders as lacking enough experience and being too idealistic to be president.
In trying to draw distinctions between herself and her chief Democratic rival five days before the Iowa caucuses, the two ads tout the front-runner’s experience and claim she has the ability to accomplish practical policy goals.
{mosads}Neither ad mentions the Vermont senator by name, but each takes veiled shots at his proposals and record.
The first ad, titled “Real Progress Now” positions Clinton as a candidate who has realistic ideas to help senior citizens, families and students.
“The American people can’t afford to wait for ideas that sound good on paper but will never make it in the real world,” Clinton says in the ad. “We can make real progress right now.”
Clinton hit at Sanders’s idealism during Monday night’s candidate forum on CNN. In response to a question about an upbeat Sanders ad, she said, “You know, look, you campaign in poetry, you govern in prose. And we need a lot more poetry in this campaign and in our country.” Ultimately, she added, she believes she’s the best candidate to govern.
The second spot, titled “Make a Difference,” touts Clinton’s experience and highlights her tenure as secretary of State.
“We need a president as experienced as Hillary in the Situation Room, at the negotiating table, and always by your side fighting for children and families,” the ad’s narrator says.
The ad also takes swipes at Sanders on healthcare, gun control and national security.
The two top Democratic White House hopefuls have been sparring for weeks over healthcare policy. Sanders supports a national single-payer system, which Clinton says will ultimately hurt the Affordable Care Act.
“She’ll build on ObamaCare, not start over … defend Planned Parenthood, not attack it; stand up to the gun lobby, not protect it; lead on foreign policy, not ignore it,” the narrator says.
Sanders recently called Planned Parenthood, which has endorsed Clinton, “part of the establishment.” At Monday night’s forum, he walked back that comment, saying his remark was poorly worded and expressing his support for family planning organization.
Sanders, who has vowed to not engage in negative campaigning, has nonetheless stepped up his critiques of Clinton. Both candidates’ rhetoric has gotten sharper as polls show the Sanders closing the gap in Iowa and surpassing Clinton in New Hampshire.