The White House is condemning a television commercial by supporters of Clarence Thomas that questions the ethics of liberal senators who are expected to oppose Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court.
The White House on Tuesday called the personal attacks on senators "reprehensible" and said President Bush and his aides had nothing to do with the ad."The White House disassociates itself from any advertising campaign related to the nomination of Judge Clarence Thomas that personally attacks members of the U.S. Senate," Bush's press secretary, Marlin Fitzwater, said in the statement.
The 60-second ad was sponsored by two conservative groups. It targets Democratic Sens. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Alan Cranston of California and Joseph Biden of Delaware.
The ad asks how many of the "liberal Democrats" expected to oppose Thomas "could themselves pass ethical scrutiny."
About Kennedy, the ad says he was suspended from Harvard for cheating and that he left the scene of the 1969 accident at Chappaquiddick, Mass., where a campaign aide, Mary Jo Kopechne, died. The ad features shows a headline that reads "Teddy's Sexy Romp" as the narrator adds, "And this year, Palm Beach."
Regarding Biden, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, the ad says he was "found guilty of plagiarism during his presidential campaign."
And about Cranston, the ad says: "Implicated in the Keating Five S&L scandal."
Thomas' prime Senate backer, Missouri Republican John Danforth, called the ad "the worst kind of sleazy advertising," and said Thomas was "mortified" when he learned of it. Danforth called the attacks on Kennedy, Biden and Cranston "especially revolting."
Thomas, in a statement released by Danforth's office, also condemned the ad.
"I deplore such viciousness," he said. "It is my hope that private groups with an interest in my nomination would conduct themselves with a proper respect for the important role and responsibilities of the Senate, with respect for senators, and in a way that brings credit to this nation's processes of constitutional government."
L. Brent Bozell III of the Conservative Victory Committee, one of the ad's sponsors, said, "This is a shot across the bow," in describing the commercial.
"We wanted to put the liberal leadership on notice, a straightforward message to the left" that some conservatives are ready to play hardball, he said.
The ad, co-sponsored by the group Citizens United, was shown Tuesday by Washington-area cable operators in time slots made available to them on the Cable News Network channel, and by the Fox Television station in Washington.
Bozell, asked about the criticism of the ad, was unapologetic.