Hillary Clinton’s new political campaign ad reminds us of the classic, 1964 Johnson “Daisy Girl” ad for playing upon voters’ fears.

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign played the national security card in a new ad that will get plenty of free air time across the cable news networks and Internet today. It echos the “red phone” ad that Walter Mondale used successfully against Gary Hart in the 1984 Democratic presidential race.

Key line: “It’s 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep… Something’s happening in the world… Who do you want answering the phone?”

Ben Smith calls it “the scariest ad of the cycle, one that echoes, in a soft-focus way, some of President Bush’s 2004 campaign spots.”

First Read: “Does it remind anyone of that LBJ Daisy ad? Ok, that’s a little extreme… But it sure does raise the specter of fear. Of course, remember, primary voters are more likely to vote their heart than head, which may mean an ad like this won’t be as effective as it would, say, in a general election.”

Here is the Hillary Clinton ad.

Here is the Johnson 1964 “Daisy Girl” ad.



Here is the Mondale Red Phone Ad.




As Politico reports, Barack Obama has responsed to the ad.


Obama responded to Clinton’s ad in a speech to veterans in Houston today, according to prepared remarks. He accused her of playing on fear, and echoed his staff’s retort that she’s had, and blown, her red phone moment:

Now before we open this up for conversation, I just want to take a moment to respond to an ad that Sen. Clinton is apparently running today that asks, “Who do you want answering the phone in the White House when it’s 3 a.m. and something has happened in the world?”

We’ve seen these ads before. They’re the kind that play on peoples’ fears to scare up votes.

Well it won’t work this time. Because the question is not about picking up the phone. The question is — what kind of judgment will you make when you answer? We’ve had a red phone moment. It was the decision to invade Iraq. And Sen. Clinton gave the wrong answer. George Bush gave the wrong answer. John McCain gave the wrong answer.

UPDATE: The Barack Obama campaign released an ad to respond to Hillary Clinton’s “Children” a.k.a. Red Phone ad.



James Kotecki of Politico analyzes “laughable” campaign ads in general.