Senator Bob Corker Calls His 2006 Campaign Ads “Grotesque”

By Kleinheider Posted on May 16, 2008 at 7:27 am

E.J. Dionne catches Senator Bob Corker in a candid, reflective mood while reminiscing about his 2006 campaign against Harold Ford, Jr.:

Facing a tough contest against Harold Ford Jr., a young, telegenic African American congressman, Corker says he watched his campaign flounder as his consultants ran television ads that tried to paint his opponent, a moderately conservative Democrat, as a “liberal.”

“They were grotesque,” Corker said of his own commercials in an interview this week. “It was just the same old stuff.” By contrast, he said, Ford’s spots were “fresh and refreshing.”

Corker, the former mayor of Chattanooga, called in new consultants and switched to a more positive campaign. “We kept the race about Tennessee,” he said. “We focused on my life, on who I was as a person.” Independent voters who had been attracted to Ford started moving Corker’s way.

Yet the national party almost blew the race near the end, Corker said, by running an ad that many saw as racist. The commercial, aired without Corker’s knowledge, included a young, blonde, white actress declaring that she had met Ford “at the Playboy party.” It ended with her whispering the words: “Harold, call me.”

Corker was furious, and not just because his six-point lead melted into a four-point deficit. The party eventually pulled the radioactive ad, and Corker won narrowly. The senator has advised Republican colleagues in tough races this year to resist national party ads that mention their opponents.

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Tags: 2006 Senate Camapaign, Bob Corker, Call Me, Harold Ford