Four days before the Ames Straw Poll, the Tim Pawlenty campaign has released a new ad called “Experience Matters.”
The ad does two things at once: hit President Barack Obama as “a failed leader” and tout Pawlenty’s executive experience as governor of Minnesota, the line on Pawlenty’s resume that he’s most often highlighted.
Over images of lecterns and podiums, the ad replays soundbites from Obama and members of his administration offering rosy assessments of the economy on top of a dramatic soundtrack.
Text on the screen says, “A failed economy … a failed leader … a failed direction … zero experience … zero answers … a failed ‘hope’ … a failed recovery.”
Pawlenty himself is not featured until the very end, during the required candidate approval message.
No word yet on whether this is just a web advertisement or something Iowans will see on TV. The Pawlenty campaign said last week that it was pulling its campaign ads during the lead-up to Saturday’s Straw Poll.
