Obama ad focuses on special interests By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer

Obama ad focuses on special interests By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 28 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama tried to distance himself from the city where he works Tuesday with a new television ad running in the leadoff presidential nominating state of Iowa.

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The ad, "Take it Back," features the Illinois senator speaking in Springfield, Ill., when he formally announced his candidacy and vowing to take back power from special interest groups in Washington if he's elected president.

"They think they own this government," Obama says in the ad. "But we're here today to take it back."

The ad also includes Obama delivering one of his biggest applause lines, one that confronts his biggest weakness — that's he too inexperienced to be president after just 2 1/2 years in the Senate.

"I know that I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington," Obama says. "But, I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change."

The ad is meant to draw a distinction with Obama's chief rival for the nomination — New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. She argues her time in Washington has prepared her to lead from her first day in office, but Obama is trying to turn her experience into a negative at a time when voters are dissatisfied with government.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, another leading candidate in the Iowa race, also has been running against Washington politics. Edwards served one term in the Senate and was the 2004 vice presidential nominee.

In Obama's ad, an announcer says the senator has been a leader on ethics reform and has refused contributions from political action committees and Washington lobbyists.

Obama has taken money from lobbyists registered in his home state of Illinois, however, some of whom have federal interests. When lobbyists registered in Washington have given money to his campaign, Obama has returned it.

Edwards has made the same commitment.

Ethics legislation is approaching final approval in Congress this week. The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to require lawmakers to disclose more details of their bids to fund pet projects and their fundraising help from lobbyists.

Obama's television ads also will be accompanied by targeted radio commercials that end with a tag line that says "Paid for by Obama for America, not Washington lobbyists."

Obama also plans to hang signs that say "Not Paid for by PAC or Federal Lobbyist Money" in his campaign offices across Iowa.

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Associated Press Writer Mike Glover in Iowa contributed to this report.

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