Ads Very Disappointing?

The latest from the Political Grapevine:

Ads Very Disappointing?

John Kerry's campaign has launched a $2-million advertising blitz to court African American voters, but Democratic African American members of Congress are blasting the new ads as "very disappointing."

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Elijah Cummings, quoted by the L.A. Times, calls them — "lackluster to say the least." New York Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks calls them "horrible." And California Rep. Barbara Lee says they "didn't understand the constituency [they were] targeted for."

The ads focus on Kerry's education, employment and healthcare initiatives, and urge voters to "Get to Know" John Kerry. But black members of Congress say the ads they saw ... would not make African Americans "very excited about going to the polls for John Kerry."

The senator's campaign says it is considering altering the ads.

Hope's Hope

Speaking of Kerry, other Democrats were complaining that his campaign didn't offer New York Senator Hillary Clinton a speaking role at the upcoming Democratic Convention, calling it — "a total outrage" and "very stupid."

Judith Hope, the former head of the New York Democratic Party and now a major Democratic fundraiser, said — "it's a slap in the face ... for every woman in the Democratic Party and every woman in America." Hope urged Kerry to "correct this omission." Kerry has since asked Clinton to introduce her husband, former President Bill Clinton, on the first night of the Convention.

Goldberg's Goodbye

A week ago, actress Whoopi Goldberg made vulgar puns about the president's last name and a part of her anatomy at a Democratic fundraiser in New York. Now, the Slim Fast company for which she did ads ... has dropped Goldberg from its advertising campaign, saying her comment — "does not reflect the views and values of Slim Fast."

A Slim Fast spokesman says: "We are disappointed by the manner in which Ms. Goldberg chose to express herself, and sincerely regret that her recent remarks offended some of our customers."

Jenna Now on Campaign ...

Last night we told you how Jenna Bush has decided to join her father's re-election campaign, even though she says she's "not political" and believes — "there's nothing about the process that has ever interested me." Well, sources tell the New York Post that Jenna has now accepted a job as a teaching assistant at the Harlem Day Charter School in New York.

She begins in September — leaving her plenty of time to campaign for her father. The school would neither confirm nor deny that Jenna will be working there, but Jenna — visiting an Alabama elementary school with her mom yesterday said, "I'm going to teach fourth grade."

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report