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Why are the presidential candidates spending so much time to raise so much money? To buy TV ads. Which ones succeed? Which fail? In Ad Watch, we review them as they come out. Today: Mitt Romney responds to President Obama's attacks on his jobs record, while the Republican National Committee makes Obama look like a whiner.
The Ad: Mitt Romney, "Strong Leadership"
The Issues: Romney's jobs record when he was governor of Massachusetts.
The Message: This is a response to Obama's ad "We've Heard It Before," saying that Romney campaigned for Massachusetts governor with the promise that his business experience would help create jobs. But Massachusetts was 47th in the nation in job creation. Romney's ad counters that Massachusetts had a low unemployment rate -- 4.7 percent -- and that "Romney had the best jobs record in a decade." (Salon's Steve Kornacki explains that's not much of a boast -- it counts only two other governors, who dealt with a major Boston bank failing and a national economic slowdown.) The ad concludes that "Romney's strong leadership will make all the difference on jobs."
Who'll See It: "A spokeswoman for the campaign refused to disclose any details of the size or scope of the ad," The New York Times reports. So… reporters?