One more comment on the NARAL ad against John Roberts that was pulled down this week.

To me, this seems like a classic example of a pathology of the political ad business — the desire to use paid advertisements to generate media attention. Consultants intentionally overstate their case in ads so that they will create controversy, figuring that drawing more attention to the ad will ultimately hurt the other side more than their own. But it’s strategically stupid, in my opinion, because you run the risk of going too far and damaging your credibility and that of your allies, as NARAL has done.

I learned this the hard way in 2000 when I was working for Ed Bernstein in the Nevada Senate race. A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ad criticizing our opponent, John Ensign, needlessly overstated his position on abortion, and Republicans pushed back, labeling Bernstein as a liar, which led to a death spiral for our campaign in the polls. You can see a truth watch segment on the DSCC ad that was aired by a Las Vegas TV station here.