A.A.R.P., the advocacy group for older Americans, launched a television ad campaign today in Iowa and three other states it considers battlegrounds in the 2008 presidential campaign. The ads feature excerpts from the stump speeches of John McCain and Barack Obama as they talk about the issues of health care and financial security on the campaign trail.
"We need tax policies that respect the wage earners and job creators," McCain says in the ad, and Obama says,"It’s harder to save, it’s harder to retire." A.A.R.P. spokesman Mark Fetterhoff says the group hopes the ads force the candidates to stay focused on what is important.
"We’re just trying to continue raising the issues of health care and long-term financial security, and make sure the candidates stress these issues and that the people are continuing to think about these issues and are aware of the issues," Fetterhoff says. Fetterhoff says Iowa, Michigan, Florida and New Hampshire will play important roles in the November election.
"Iowa is going to be a very competitive state. The race right now looks like it’s going to be close," Fetterhoff says, "So the national media and the candidates will be focusing on Iowa." Fetterhoff says the ads will run statewide for the next couple of weeks and return to the airwaves in August and September.