BY SANDY THEIS
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS -- Democrat Lee Fisher's latest 30-second ad urges voters to send GOP rival Bob Taft this message: "If you lie, you lose."
The commercial, which began running around the state Tuesday, is the Fisher campaign's most vigorous attempt thus far to capitalize on a Taft campaign mistake.
It points out that the Ohio Elections Commission reprimanded the Taft campaign Friday for knowingly airing a TV commercial that contained two lies. Mr. Taft, who is Ohio's chief elections official, has said he "regretted" the mistake and has reprimanded campaign manager Brian Hicks for his role in it.
Mindful that voters are tired of the bickering, Fisher campaign chairman Alan Melamed drew a distinction between the Taft campaign's negative ad, which prompted the reprimand, and the Fisher campaign's latest attack on Mr. Taft.
"There is a difference between a negative ad and an untrue ad," Mr. Melamed said. "Our ads tell the truth." Then, he blasted Mr. Taft as "a spoiled rich kid who makes up his own rules as he goes along."
In a written statement, Mr. Taft said his campaign called on Mr. Fisher last week to end the negative campaigning.
"Lee Fisher turned his back on . . . pleas for civility, signaling that a positive issue-based conclusion to this campaign is outside the realm of possibility."
Attacking your opponent -- then calling for an end to negative campaigning -- is an old trick that Mr. Taft has tried before, Mr. Melamed said.
The Fisher campaign provided a stack of old newspaper stories that showed a similar pattern.
In a Jan. 16, 1990, article, Mr. Taft criticized fellow Republican George Voinovich's record on taxes, saying, "When George Voinovich says "No new taxes,' hold on to your wallet." The two were seeking the GOP nomination for governor at the time.
Ten days later, Mr. Taft "called for a ban on negative advertising during the GOP primary campaign for governor," according to a news clip dated Jan. 26, 1990.
Mr. Taft issued his latest call for a truce Friday, midway through the election commission's hearing. It came after his campaign had run 30 straight days of ads critical of Mr. Fisher.
After two weeks of unanswered attacks, Mr. Fisher responded with commercials critical of Mr. Taft. He has run a combination of both negative and positive commercials throughout most of the campaign.
On Monday, Mr. Taft began running a commercial that stresses his plans to improve public education and fight crime. It marks the first Taft campaign commercial thus far that features Mr. Taft in a speaking role.
Along with his new ad critical of Mr. Taft, Mr. Fisher debuted a commercial that touts his proposal to give patients more clout when dealing with health maintenance organizations.
Mr. Melamed described the dueling commercials as an effort to "give people a reason to vote for Lee Fisher and a reason to vote against Bob Taft."
The dispute over whose ads are true, and whose are false, will continue today when the elections commission determines whether to hold hearings on one commercial produced by the Taft campaign and one produced by the Fisher campaign.
In the disputed Fisher ad, an announcer says that "only one" candidate for governor "has a plan to cut property taxes." It explains Mr. Fisher's plan to trim property taxes by up to $275 annually.
Mr. Taft has proposed expanding an existing program that trims property taxes for senior citizens. His campaign contends that the plan also constitutes "a plan to cut property taxes."
In the disputed Taft ad, a quote from the Cleveland Plain Dealer is modified to give viewers the impression that the news article from which it came defended Mr. Taft. The article, however, is critical of him.
A Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge temporarily blocked the Taft ad from airing, saying he thought the ad was misleading.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the elections commission is the proper venue to resolve such disputes.
Mr. Taft is leading in state polls. Both men have already raised more than $16 million to succeed Gov. Voinovich, who is running for the U.S. Senate.
