TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, who criticizes Gov. Charlie Crist for being a fan of President Barack Obama's stimulus package, is himself a fan of one of Obama's campaign ads.
Rubio's U.S. Senate campaign posted a Web ad that uses the same music, lettering and style as an ad that Obama ran against Republican John McCain to point out McCain's comment that the fundamentals of the economy were strong in Sept. 2008. The Rubio ad shows Crist being asked a question about the Florida economy a few months ago and responding "It's not that big a deal to be honest with you." It ends with an image of Crist and Obama at a rally to support the $787 billion stimulus package.
The Rubio campaign said the similarities weren't a case of plagiarism, but rather an homage to an effective ad that captured a defining moment in the 2008 presidential election. Both ads are named "Fundamentals." The decision to make the ad similar to the Obama spot was deliberate, said Rubio campaign spokesman Alex Burgos, explaining that the Obama ad was used to portray McCain as out of touch, and the Rubio ad attempts to do the same with Crist.
Rubio and Crist will face each other in the GOP primary in August. They are vying for the seat vacated by former Sen. Mel Martinez.
"The difference between us and Charlie Crist is that we think the Obama campaign had effective ads. Charlie Crist believes President Obama has effective policies," said Burgos.
When asked about the similarity of the ads, the Crist campaign used the opportunity to attack Rubio.
"You have to give the Rubio campaign credit for admitting the many parallels between their campaign and Obama's. Both are media darlings of the moment dedicated to fooling the voters about their real records," said Crist campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul, specifically criticizing Rubio for supporting the idea of raising the state's sales tax while eliminating property taxes.
The comments came after a Web site called "The Carmon Report" pointed out the similarities in the ads and questioned whether Rubio plagiarized Obama.
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On the Net:
Rubio ad: http://tinyurl.com/ylpxm8v
Obama ad: http://tinyurl.com/5zu7ot
