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Obama, Clinton show soft sides
09/04/2008 21:12 - (SA)
Washington - Democratic presidential contenders tugged at voters' heartstrings this week, with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama debuting ads with grainy home-movie footage and heartwarming family interviews.
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday unveiled a new campaign ad in Pennsylvania, site of the next presidential primary which played up her family roots in the coal mining town of Scranton, where her father grew up.
The ad shows black-and-white images of Hillary as a bouncy toddler, circa 1950, with chubby legs unsteadily descending the stairs of her father's childhood home.
"This is me in Scranton, where my father was raised, and my grandfather worked in the lace mill," the former first lady's voice is heard saying.
"Every August, we'd pile into the car and head to our cottage on Lake Winola. There was no heat, or indoor shower - just the joy of family," Clinton said.
She adds that she was raised on the family card game pinochle, "and the American dream" as a family video album shows a church steeple, various relatives and her dad's modest white frame house.
A dream
"I still have faith in that dream," Clinton says. "We all need to dream it again and I promise, we will."
Meanwhile, her rival for the Democratic nomination Barack Obama also unveiled an ad meant to soften his image, featuring his wife Michelle, maternal grandmother Madelyn Dunham and his half-sister, discussing the candidate's strong family values.
"He wants to make sure that everybody's children have the opportunities that his daughters have," Obama's half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng says on the spot, referring to Obama's school-aged daughters, Malia and Sasha.
"People recognise themselves in Barack and they feel understood by him," Soetoro-Ng says, which also highlights the racial and ethnic diversity within Obama's family.
"In part that's because he listens so well."
Meanwhile, 85-year old Dunham, who raised Obama from the time he was 10, praises her grandson for his "depth" and "broadness of view".
Industry sources indicated that the Clinton campaign would be spending roughly $1m in the coming week and Obama more than twice as much in a bid to win over voters in Pennsylvania.
The April 22 primary election there is expected to play a crucial role in breaking the deadlock over the Democratic presidential nominee, with the race in a virtual tie for the past several weeks.
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