Bredesen Says “Call Me” Ad Helped Harold Ford, Jr.

By Kleinheider Posted on August 3, 2008 at 10:08 pm

Contrary to conventional wisdom, Governor Phil Bredesen tells Politico that the infamous “Call Me” ad actually hurt Bob Corker in his ultimately successful campaign against Harold Ford, Jr. in the 2006 Tennessee U.S. Senate race and warns the McCain campaign against sparking similar anti-racist blowback with its advertising:

“The reality of the ad, which I think ought to be a lesson for McCain right now, is that ad helped Harold Ford, absolutely,” Bredesen said.

According to the governor, Corker’s polling showed a significant reaction against the ad, with the Republican Senate candidate going from a lead of 6 points to a deficit of 4 in less than a week.

Bredesen explained the drop as the product of a backlash among white voters.

“There’s all sorts of white swing voters for whom the idea of sending an attractive, young — obviously at the beginning of a great career — black man up to Washington is a very attractive prospect,” the Democratic governor explained. “And I think they were offended.”

Ultimately, Ford lost by fewer than 3 percentage points, and some of his advisers believe the commercial was a contributing factor.

Most political observers, while quibbling over its racial connotations, almost universally concur that the ad helped the Corker campaign define their man as the “real Tennessean” in that race.

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