Romney launches new ad offensive

A new advertising offensive was begun today by Mitt Romney, with the former Massachusetts governor taking direct aim at some in his own party and attempting to cast himself as the most electable agent of change.

With polls showing voters want a change and Republicans seeming on the defensive, much of the recent attention has been focused on Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But the new 30-second Romney ad, titled "Change begins with us," which began today in New Hampshire and will show up in Iowa by the weekend, hits his Republican Party hard as big-government spenders with serious ethical challenges, and slips in a slap or two on the issue of immigration.

"If we're going to change Washington," Romney says, directly staring into the camera with a leafy green background, "Republicans have to put our own house in order. We can't be like Democrats--a party of big spending. We can't pretend our borders are secure from illegal immigration. We can't have ethical standards that are a punchline for Jay Leno."

The ad is part of a lengthy Romney advertising campaign in the early states that began with biographical sketches, and described his management and leadership skills in business and his rescuing the Salt Lake City Olympics and working as a Republican governing liberal Massachusetts.

Romney confronts head-on the corruption atmosphere many voters gave as a reason for electing a Democratic Congress last fall, and through his criticism of big spending tries to appeal to conservatives who feel President Bush went astray in that area of party orthodoxy.

The ad campaign has contributed to Romney's strong lead in Iowa and a smaller one in New Hampshire. In South Carolina he's trailing in fourth place behind Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson and John McCain.

Romney, who's coming to California Sunday for a five-day swing, became the first GOP candidate to start running ads in South Carolina on Sept. 5 with what one advisor called a "significant" ad buy, and is going up with another in coming days. Both have previously run successfully in Iowa.

"When Republicans act like Democrats," Romney proclaims in one ad, "America loses. It's time for Republicans to start acting like Republicans. It's time for a change, and change begins with us."

--Andrew Malcolm