Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry calls America "a country of optimists" and outlines his plan to make the nation "stronger at home" and "respected in the world" in a television ad unveiled Tuesday.
The 30-second commercial is the first in a new round of advertising meant to explain Kerry's proposals on the economy, health care and national security.
Kerry will spend $18 million in June, a heavy amount for five months before the election, to run issue-focused commercials in media markets in 20 states _ including Arkansas and, for the first time, GOP-leaning Virginia _ and nationally on cable networks.
"We're a country of the future. We're a country of optimists. We're the can-do people," Kerry says in the new ad, which is filled with pictures of American flags, children, veterans and the candidate on the campaign trail.
The ad doesn't mention any specific state, but senior media strategist Tad Devine said Tuesday that the ad would help in Arkansas.
"'Optimist' doesn't specifically refer to the state, but we do think it touches a deep and resonant cord in Arkansas," Devine said.
National campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said Kerry would be visiting Arkansas again to try to match the focus of the Bush-Cheney campaign in Arkansas. She said a May 23 Zogby poll showing Bush drawing less than 50 percent of the vote and Kerry less than 5 points behind was encouraging.
"Considering that we were outspent there and faced a barage of negative ads, it bodes well for the future," Cahill said.
Kerry's June ad says that for Kerry "a stronger America begins at home" and highlights his domestic plans to create jobs, lower health care costs and make the nation less reliant on Middle Eastern oil. The ad also promises "a strong military and strong alliances to defeat terror."
On Wednesday, the commercial will replace 60-second biographical ads, which survey his life from his birth to his military service to his Senate career, that have been running in 19 states since early May. The campaign won't run the new ad just yet in Virginia. A biographical spot will air instead.
Kerry strategists believe the bio ads helped Kerry's image in the wake of ads by President Bush that labeled the Democrat a flip-flopping liberal.
Mark Mellman, Kerry's pollster, cited independent polls, such as the National Annenberg Election Survey from the University of Pennsylvania last week. It showed that 44 percent of people in battleground states view Kerry favorably, up from early May when 39 percent had a favorable impression.
Meanwhile, Bush continues to pound Kerry with attack ads, including some that have been criticized by independent reviewers as misleading.
Mary Matalin, a senior adviser to Bush's re-election campaign, said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show that the campaign stands by all of its ads.
"We're not making up anything," Matalin said. "These ads are Kerry's own words or Kerry's own records."
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On the Net:
Kerry campaign: http://www.johnkerry.com