Romney ad plays the family card against Gingrich (sort of)
Romney's ad had just been released. Though Romney seemed confused on the number of years he had been married, the main point is that he is a family man. In his ad, he provides many visuals like old photos of his wife and kids. However, the second message that Romney is trying to say is that Newt Gingrich, his main rival, is not. Though Gingrich's name is not mentioned, it doesn't take a political genius to figure out that the ad is meant to remind Republicans of his past.
Gingrich has been married for three years. He has been trying his very best to avoid his martial past in campaigns and whenever it is brought up, he brushes off the problem by saying something between the lines of, "The past is the past. What we need to focus on is the future."
Surprisingly, Gingrich's past does not affect his popularity with voters. In a new Washington Post-ABC News Iowa poll, nearly eight in ten likely Republican caucus-goers said that his romantic past was not a factor in their vote. One percent even said that it was a major reason to support him!
What Romney is trying to do with his ad is to get the uneducated voters who did not know about Gingrich's past in hopes that they will support him. Gingrich's past is not an issue though because his past is not a major. Personal issues only impact a candidate's race when it unravels news that seem scandalous or on something that people have not heard about. Gingrich is accepting the fact that he has had many wives and therefore, is not new or scandalous news; it is not similar to the scandal of Herman Cain.
Romney's ad has without a doubt brought up the essence of prospective voters. He tries to attract prospective voters by stating that he has good moral values and is faithful to his family and business that he has been for many years.
This article is unbiased. Chris Cillizza provides a fair analysis on Gingrich's past because he is simply stating the message. In addition, he explains why it was not much of an impact to Gingrich's popularity by sourcing polls done. Cillizza informs readers about the types of "personal attacks" and what effects each one has.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/romney-ad-plays-the-family-card-against-gingrich-sort-of/2011/12/07/gIQAmtD6cO_blog.html
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