Clinton campaign to air ‘New Beginning’ TV ad

When you turn on your TV, don't be surprised if you see Hillary Clinton talking about the need for a new beginning.

During a teleconference Monday, Clinton's national communications director, Howard Wolfson, told Nevada volunteers for the New York senator's presidential campaign that a new ad, entitled "New Beginning," will begin airing statewide today on broadcast and cable networks.

Democrat Barack Obama announced Friday he would begin airing a TV ad throughout Nevada today called "Take It Back."

The ads are intended to help Nevadans decide which way to vote during the Jan. 19 Democratic presidential caucuses.

A Review-Journal poll released Sunday showed that Clinton is ahead in Nevada by 8 percentage points, the favorite of 34 percent of the Nevada Democrats polled, with Obama running second at 26 percent.

Wolfson said in his remarks to volunteers that other polls show Clinton ahead by as much as 27 points in Nevada.

"We feel very good about where we are," Wolfson said.

Clinton spokeswoman Hilarie Grey said her candidate's ad is also running in New Hampshire, site of a Jan. 8 primary. Other Clinton spots in Nevada might be on the horizon, Grey said.

The ad that begins today argues that Clinton has the experience necessary to make change happen.

She served as first lady to President Bill Clinton, her husband, from 1993 to 2001 and has been a U.S. senator from New York since 2001.

In addition to her work as a private attorney, her experience includes stints as a staff attorney for the Children's Defense Fund, as a legal aid attorney, and as a staff attorney for the House Judiciary Committee considering the impeachment of then-President Nixon. She twice was named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America.

The 60-second "New Beginning" ad highlights Clinton's goals of "restoring America's standing," "rebuilding the middle class dream" and "reclaiming the future for our children."

"We need a new beginning on health care," Clinton says in the spot.

"We need to provide health care for every single man, woman and child at a price that people can afford."

Clinton's Nevada state campaign chairman, Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid, told volunteers during the teleconference that it is important to work harder than ever to get people to the caucuses now that there are only 40 days before they take place.

"We're entering into a hard stretch," he said. "Talk to family and friends."

Clinton makes a clear-cut promise regarding the Iraq conflict in the ad.

"We need a new beginning in our foreign policy," she said. "If the president won't end this war before he leaves office, when I am president, I will."

Contact reporter Paul Harasim at pharasim@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2908.