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In new 30-second Florida TV spot, Boston uses NBC Nightly News footage from January 1997 to detail Gingrich's ethics violations.
Brokaw: "By an overwhelming vote, they found him guilty of ethics violations; they charged him a very large financial penalty, and they raised – several of them – raised serious questions about his future effectiveness."
Brokaw/NBC ask Boston to pull the spot: "I am extremely uncomfortable with the extended use of my personal image in this political ad. I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign."
Romney camp claims "fair use," to leave ad on the air.
Read the script below.
NBC’S TOM BROKAW: “Good evening. Newt Gingrich, who came to power, after all, preaching a higher standard in American politics, a man who brought down another Speaker on ethics accusations, tonight he has on his own record the judgment of his peers, Democrat and Republican alike. By an overwhelming vote, they found him guilty of ethics violations; they charged him a very large financial penalty, and they raised – several of them – raised serious questions about his future effectiveness.”
Halperin's Take
This is the latest example of the smart stuff Romney World has done this week. They've almost certainly had the Brokaw ad in mind for awhile. They put it on the air Friday, but didn't put out a press release about it until Saturday. That meant NBC wouldn't be able to mobilize its lawyers until the weekend, when their chances of getting paperwork filed and a judge involved are near zero. This means the ad will stay on the air until Monday and maybe Tuesday. And they knew that Brokaw would complain, getting them tons of free media during the same period — and making it hard for Gingrich to break through with his own message. When asked about Brokaw, the Romney campaign is saying how much they respect him, protecting them from the plan's only vulnerability, a pro-Brokaw backlash. This is a similar gambit to what Boston did with its ad quoting President Obama out of context: pick a free media war to insure amplification of a paid spot and dominance of the news cycle. Once again: wicked smaat.More ways to get The Page
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