President Obama’s campaign is on television in Pennsylvania for the first time in months: a $1.6 million rotation of one positive and one negative ad.
The positive spot (below) is a straight-to-camera appeal by the President for a second term. The negative spot (above) is a hit on Mitt Romney over his tax plans.
The Obama buy came in response to a flurry of GOP activity in Pa. Here’s the rundown of spending for the final week of the campaign:
Restore Our Future (pro-Romney super PAC): $2.1 million
Obama campaign: $1.6 million
American Crossroads (Karl Rove’s super PAC): $1.2 million
Americans for Job Security (GOP super PAC): $1.1 million
Mitt Romney campaign: $930K
Republicans say the move is a response to signs that Romney is surging nationally and Pa. is in play. Democrats say it’s a desperate move based on the back that Romney can’t move numbers in other swing states, and the GOP has a surplus of cash.
Given the fact that the polls started moving in Pa. back in early October and the buys are just coming now, it looks like it might be neither. Rather, it could be an effort by the better-funded GOP to force Obama’s team to spend more on defense that it’s less able to afford.
Here’s the positive Obama ad: