Ad Was to Air Following State of the Union Address
CHICAGO/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — CNN has rejected an uplifting and positive ad focusing on the historic inauguration of Barack Obama, submitted for the State of the Union Address on Feb. 24. CNN claims the ad “suggests a position in favor of the advocacy message, without having permission of the persons involved.”
Brian Burch of CatholicVote.org reacted to CNN’s claims: “This is absurd. Our ad does not suggest that Barack Obama is pro-life. Instead, we make the obvious point that Obama’s mother gave birth to a child that ultimately became the 1st African American President. This is a fact, not an opinion.”
The standard CNN used to reject the ad did not prevent the network from airing a 2005 ad sponsored by the pro-abortion group NARAL that suggested that then Judge John Roberts supported violence against abortion clinics.
FactCheck.org described the NARAL ad: “An abortion-rights group is running an attack ad accusing Supreme Court nominee John Roberts of filing legal papers ‘supporting… a convicted clinic bomber’ and of having an ideology that ‘leads him to excuse violence against other Americans’ It shows images of a bombed clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. The ad is false.’”
Several prominent pro-abortion supporters condemned the ad, including President Clinton’s Solicitor General Walter Dellinger. The commercial, which attributed views to John Roberts that were not his, was ultimately pulled from the air not by CNN, but by NARAL.
CNN issued a statement regarding the NARAL ad attacking John Roberts. It stated: “CNN says, it accepts advocacy advertising from responsible groups from across the political spectrum who wish to express their views and their opinions about issues of public importance, so the viewers can further research claims made within the ads.”
“CNN is willing to run ads insinuating that a federal judge supports violent criminal activity, but it won’t allow an ad celebrating the life of Barack Obama. It’s a double standard from bizarro world,” said Burch.
In an email to CatholicVote.org, Kathy Christianson of CNN’s Commercial Clearance Department announced that they would not sell a spot to run the Obama ad:
“CNN doesn’t accept advocacy ads that portray personal decisions in a manner that suggests a position in favor of the advocacy message, without having permission of the persons involved. CNN is not accepting this particular advocacy ad because it deals with a highly personal and private matter and does so without the consent of those involved.”
“There is nothing objectionable in this positive, life-affirming advertisement. We never mention the word abortion. We show an ultrasound of a baby. And we congratulate Barack Obama on becoming the first African-American President. And we simply ask people to imagine the potential of each human life,” said Burch.
The ad aired on BET in Chicago on Inauguration Day. It has become an Internet hit with over 1.6 million views since Jan. 20. The ad was in the top 10 ‘most viewed’ category on YouTube on Inauguration Day last month.
The ad reads: “This child’s future is a broken home. He will be abandoned by his father. His single mother will struggle to raise him. Despite the hardships he will endure…this child…will become…the 1st African-American President.” The ad concludes with the tagline, “Life: Imagine the Potential.” The ad is the first of several ads in new campaign launched by CatholicVote.org .
The Obama ad can be viewed at CatholicVote.org, which is a project of the Fidelis Center for Law and Policy.
Source: Fidelis Center for Law & Policy; Web Site: http://www.catholicvote.org/