Even as Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign tries to shake up the candidate’s public image following a rough summer, the campaign still believes the election will ultimately be about the economy and is putting its money where its mouth is in a new TV ad.
The newest 30-second spot — dubbed “Stretched” — is aimed squarely at the middle class, with Clinton saying that boosting families’ wages is “the defining economic challenges of our time.”
“That will be my mission as president,” Clinton says to the camera.
The former secretary of state goes on to say that she understands how middle class families are squeezed, explaining, “I have a plan that will put raising incomes right at the center of our economy again.”
It’s the fourth ad from the campaign as part of the $2 million ad buy that was announced in early August for Iowa and New Hampshire, the key presidential nominating states. The first two ad were largely biographical, featuring the story of Clinton’s mother, while the third was about how Clinton believes the “deck is stacked in favor of those at the top.”
Clinton’s once-indomitable lead has narrowed in recent months as she has been dogged by the controversy over the private email server she used to conduct official business as the nation’s top diplomat. Clinton’s campaign believes that a new strategy, including a recent mea culpa on the emails, will help the campaign begin to tame the issue and let Clinton get back to putting out her message.
Alex Seitz-Wald