Published January 14, 2015
A Texas congressional candidate has launched a television campaign ad linking his opponent to beleaguered CBS news anchor Dan Rather.
The ad for Louie Gohmert (search), the Republican candidate in a race to unseat Democratic incumbent Rep. Max Sandlin (search), is believed to be the first to exploit the debacle stemming from a CBS report on President Bush's National Guard service.
"Seen Max Sandlin's negative ads?" a narrator says in the ad, while video clips of Sandlin at a microphone and a snowy television screen are shown.
"They've got more holes than a CBS News story by Dan Rather," the narrator continues. The ad switches to a shot of a newspaper clipping with Rather's photo and the headline "CBS apologizes for Bush Guard story."
Rather apologized Monday for relying on questionable documents to support a Sept. 8 "60 Minutes" story that cited documents purported to be from one of Bush's commanders in the Texas Air National Guard. Numerous questions have been raised about the authenticity of the documents.
CBS spokeswoman Sandy Genelius said Friday the network would not comment on the ad.
The ad goes on to criticize Sandlin on trade and other issues. It began running Wednesday and was produced in about a day, said Gohmert spokesman Keats Norfleet.
Jim Dow, a spokesman for Sandlin, said the ad is "a juvenile and invalid comparison that folks don't really care about anyway. Voters in East Texas care about jobs, health care and integrity, not Dan Rather."
https://www.foxnews.com/story/texas-candidates-ad-cites-cbs-scandal