Candidates always like to tout their wholesome home-lives, but as GOP presidential candidates lay into Newt Gingrich, suddenly a positive ad about a long-time marriage can seem like an implicit attack. Today, the Perry campaign is up with an ad in which Anita Perry discusses her long-time marriage to Rick.
Running on national cable and on Iowa broadcast and cable, the 30-second ad - titled “American Story” - features Anita Perry recalling how she married her high school sweetheart after he returned from the air force and began working on his father’s farm.
It’s the kind of all-American story that appeals to conservative Iowa voters, and a more subtle proclamation of conservative values than Perry’s disastrous gays-in-the-military ad fiasco. As always, the marriage comments are a subtle jab at thrice-married rival Newt Gingrich.
Here’s the script:
Mrs. Perry: “It’s an old-fashioned American story. I married my high school sweetheart, but first I had to wait as he volunteered for the Air Force and flew planes all over the world.”“I’m Anita Perry. When Rick’s tour of duty as a captain in the Air Force ended, he returned home to farm with his dad and asked me to marry him.”
“We grew up in small towns, raised with Christian values — values we still believe in. And we know Washington, D.C., could use some of that.”
Gov. Perry: “I’m Rick Perry, and I really approve this message.”
Watch:
Pema Levy
Pema Levy is a News Writer at TPM covering the 2012 election. Before coming to TPM, Pema was an assistant editor at The American Prospect where she wrote about politics and the economy.
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