New ad touts Obama's commitment to Medicare

President Barack Obama's campaign rolled out ads pitched to seniors and veterans Wednesday. Meanwhile, Politico analyzes Mitt Romney's decision to emphasize his record as a businessman rather than as Massachusetts governor when he helped pass that state's health reform law.

The New York Times: New Obama Ads Focus On Medicare And Veterans
President Obama's campaign on Wednesday rolled out two new ads promoting his achievements, part of a $25 million advertising effort that his campaign unveiled this month. In one ad, titled "Personal," Mr. Obama's campaign brags about efforts the president has made to protect Medicare from scams and fraud, and says he is working to "preserve Medicare now and for the future." The ad cites the president's upbringing by his grandparents to suggest that his desire to protect health care for the elderly is an important matter to him personally (Shear, 5/23).

The Washington Post: Obama Takes Break From Bain In Two New Ads
A second ad, "Personal," targets senior citizens, emphasizing the president's commitment to preserving Medicare. ... The ads are running in Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia as part of the campaign's $25 million May ad buy (Weiner, 5/23).

The Associated Press: Obama Focuses On Seniors, Veterans In Positive Ads
"Personal," which focuses on Medicare, is a clear appeal to senior citizens, one of the largest and most consistent voter blocs. The ad's claims about Obama's record on Medicare are true, although it ignores changes to the program that occurred under Obama. Medicare was cut by about 6 percent as part of Obama's overhaul of the health care system. The administration has said the cuts trimmed waste. By positioning himself as a protector of Medicare, Obama is also framing an election fight he's likely to have with Romney, who has expressed support for a budget blueprint passed by House Republicans that includes significant cuts and changes to Medicare and Medicaid (Jackson, 5/23).

Politico Pro: Mitt Romney In Massachusetts: The Lost Years
By choosing to emphasize his experience as a can-do businessman who ran the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and Bain Capital, Romney is shielding himself from the charge that he's a hidden centrist who passed the nation's most sweeping local health care reform bill, supported abortion rights and closed tax loopholes for the rich. President Barack Obama's campaign, for its part, is happy to hammer Romney for job losses at companies acquired by Bain -; and to mock him for dodging what they cast as a lousy record as governor. The result is one of the oddest political storylines in an oddball year. No candidate in modern history has so aggressively undersold what has been seen as the most desirable qualification for the presidency since the 1970s -; running a state -; nor downplayed a string of victories, tough calls and man-up moments that a typical politician would highlight in a heartbeat ... (Thrush, 5/23).

Meanwhile, in Arizona, the health care overhaul came up as part of a congressional candidates' debate.

Arizona Republic: Tucson District 8 Candidates Face Off
Candidates running to replace former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords agreed on one thing during their first public debate Wednesday: that they would change President Obama's health-care law. But Democrat Ron Barber, Republican Jesse Kelly and Green Party candidate Charlie Manolakis differed on how they would do it (Sanders, 5/23).

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This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.