New Political Ads Heat Up the Airwaves in GOP Contest

If you've ever participated in a high school student council election, then you can kind of get the gist of the Iowa caucuses.

People usually go into the election with a favorite - the cheerleader, the jock, the geek, the funny one - and then, come voting day, they do their best to convince the undecideds that, "Hey, you should vote for (insert candidate here). They'll reduce ketchup consumption in the caf and balance the school dance budget."

Before all that happens, the candidates campaign. They make posters, they show up at events and functions, they rally the troops by promising things that - while they sound promising - could never be delivered on. But we believe it.

Sadly, it's never until the last few weeks of an election that the true character of a candidate seems to break through. It's when they finally come to the realization that, well, they might not win, that they either start playing fair or they start getting dirty.

The same could be said for a handful of the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination. Today and in the past few days, four of the GOP candidates have started running television and web ads.

In Mitt Romney's latest, "The Right Answer", he says in 30 seconds what he's been saying all along: "The right answer for America is to stop the growth of the federal government and to start the growth of the private sector."

Herman Cain? He still believes that, "The 15 trillion dollar national debt is killing our children’s future and it’s not going to get any better until we put an executive in the executive office."

And Rick Perry? Well, he currently stands at fifth place in the most recent RealClearPolitics.com poll, behind Gingrich, Romney, Cain and Ron Paul (respectively) yet he's chugging right along, delivering his same message with that familiar Texas drawl.

“I’m an outsider so I’ll step on a few toes if necessary to reopen our oil and gas fields," he says.

The tone is different for a web ad Ron Paul's campaign is set to send out to thousands of potential voters. In two and a half minutes, Paul rips Gingrich (who's currently leading the polls ahead of Romney) for his "serial hypocrisy" accusing him of constantly flip-flopping on the issues. It's decidedly dirty and clearly targeted.

What do the voters think of all this? Chad Airhart of Waukee says he doesn't mind it, as long as the candidates play fair. 

"I think comments and ads of a personal nature are inappropriate and uncalled for," he said. "Policy distinctions are fair game. I'd like to see the candidates stick to (Ronald) Reagan's 11th commandment (Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican) and not be critical of each other but rather their policy and position." 

Hmm...words to win by?