Ciresi goes on the radio with antiwar, anti-Bush ads

08/21/2007

Patricia Lopez
Star Tribune
August 20, 2007 – 10:49 PM


U.S. Senate candidate Mike Ciresi released two radio ads on Monday, staking out a strong antiwar stance and criticizing President Bush, who will appear at a Twin Cities fundraiser today for Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman.

In one ad, Ciresi describes Coleman as someone "handpicked" by Bush, adding that "Norm has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Bush on the direction this country should take."

Bush's popularity is at an all-time low in Minnesota, and both Ciresi and rival DFL candidate Al Franken have taken pains to remind voters of the strong Bush-Coleman ties.

In the antiwar ad, Ciresi points out that he has opposed the Iraq war from the beginning -- a subtle dig at Franken, who supported the war through 2003, when he turned against it.

Both Ciresi and Franken now support a pullout of troops, while Coleman has said he will wait for a September report before making a decision.

The two ads, which are the first by a candidate in the U.S. Senate race, started Monday and will run through the State Fair on WCCO-AM.