Ads Part of Final Debate

At the third and final debate Saturday night, the candidates for U-S Senate addressed their more than week-long spat over negative campaign ads paid for by national committees.

Less than two weeks ago, the Republican National Committee aired an ad painting Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Junior as not right for Tennessee. At the end, a woman who says she met Ford at a Playboy part winks and says “call me.” Ford denounced the ad in last night’s debate saying it was on the air too long.

“If there was an ad like the one that ran here a week and a half ago, for over a week. If anyone I knew or may have been associated with it or had anything to do with it, that ad would have been down an hour after I learned.”

Republican Bob Corker says he too wanted the ad pulled, and called on Ford to do the same.

“I’m the only person in this race that has asked for independent expenditure ads to come down. I’ve done that twice, and they’ve come down.”

Vanderbilt political science professor John Geer wrote a book defending negative political advertising. But he says bringing up the issue in the debate didn’t help one of the candidates.

“I think it was good for Ford and bad for Corker. I don’t thing Corker–the crowd reacted spontaneously against the mayor. There’s a lot of anger about those ads.”

Despite the last week of battling over campaign ads, the candidates appeared calm and relaxed, and even shared a few laughs.

The audience asked the candidates questions this time, with topics ranging from the war in Iraq to the national debt. The candidates differed slightly on their approach to making health care more affordable.

Corker says he wants health savings accounts and supports medical liability insurance reform for doctors.

“91 non-urban counties in our state have 40-percent less OB-GYN services. Women throughout our state are driving miles to get OB-GYN services because of the fact that we do not have tort reform.”

Ford also says he supports tort reform.

“But we’ve got to go further. We have to ensure that women and children at a very young age have access to health care. It may cost a little bit on the front end, but on the back end we will make it up if they live a healthy life.”

Early voting for the November 7th election ends this Thursday.