Cheap And Easy Low-Hanging Fruit

With primary campaigns heading into their final week, mayoral candidates score cheap and easy political points by slamming the President’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Grandstanding works!

Meanwhile, one of the like 19,000 candidates for Manhattan Borough President scores even cheaper and easier points by mentioning George Bush in television spot, then getting the unbelievable good fortune to have the local Fox affiliate refuse to run the ad. Huge, huge coverage ensues:

A local television station, WNYW/Channel 5, is refusing to run a provocative advertisement promoting a Democratic candidate for Manhattan borough president. And the campaign of the candidate, Brian Ellner, is charging that the station is doing so because the spot takes a swipe at President Bush.

The 30-second ad features Mr. Bush’s face superimposed upon a middle-aged man’s naked torso as Mr. Ellner says of the president that “the emperor has no clothes.” Mr. Ellner also introduces his partner, Simon Holloway, in the spot – which the campaign says is the first time in city history that a gay candidate has introduced his or her partner in a campaign commercial.

Mr. Ellner said in an interview yesterday that representatives of Channel 5, a Fox affiliate, had told his campaign that they would not show the advertisement because it was “in poor taste.”

“It’s pretty clear it’s an anti-free speech decision because of our criticism of the president,” Mr. Ellner said.

“It’s untenable and in my view it’s anti-American.” He added that the rejection of the ad was “disrespectful to voters.”

After giving the story big play, the Times, to its credit, calls a spade whatever they call spades:

Mr. Ellner, 35, a lawyer who advised Mark Green’s mayoral campaign in 2001, is not considered a favorite to win the borough president’s race and his advertisement was devised in part to jar voters into paying attention to his candidacy in a field of nine Democrats running for Manhattan borough president in next Tuesday’s primary. Mr. Ellner’s team devised the spot in large part to appeal to gays and lesbians, and the borough’s more liberal voters in general. Fox’s refusal to run the ad is likely to help Mr. Ellner’s aims.

Where’s Bernie Goetz — post-vigilante, shorthand for loopy public relations stunts — when you need him? Oh, that’s right, he’s running for Public Advocate, too!