With his support in polls flatlining, at best, and 15 days remaining until the Jan. 3 Iowa Caucus, Gov. Bill Richardson is unveiling a new television ad today that attempts to bring the debate back to the Iraq war and set him apart from the three frontrunners on the issue.
The new ad, which is running in Iowa and New Hampshire, does effectively get Richardson’s point across that he’s the only candidate with a plan to withdraw all troops during his first year in office. The ad lists some military experts who have endorsed his plan.
But the debate has shifted for a reason. Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama are talking more about the economy and less about Iraq because polls have shown that the economy is increasingly the top concern of Americans.
Richardson tried to tie the two issues at the last debate, arguing that withdrawing from the expensive war would help the economy. In a news release announcing the new ad, he restated that position.
“Iraq is the most important issue facing our country, but the national media and too many of my fellow candidates seem to have put it on the backburner,” he said. “We can accomplish nothing on domestic issues, which the other candidates have shifted to, until we get all of our troops out of Iraq and actually end this war.”
Richardson’s campaign is in trouble unless the new ad changes the minds of Democrats in the first states to hold presidential nominating contests. He has fallen behind Joe Biden in the Real Clear Politics Average of recent national polls. Biden is at 3.1 percent, while Richardson is at 2.9 percent. On Dec. 10, Richardson was at 3.6 percent and Biden was at 3.4 percent.
With his support in polls flatlining, at best, and 15 days remaining until the Jan. 3 Iowa Caucus, Gov. Bill Richardson is unveiling a new television ad today that attempts to bring the debate back to the Iraq war and set him apart from the three frontrunners on the issue.