Presidential
hopeful Barack Obama on Monday launched a new ad in focused
on his message of change and implicitly criticizing his
Democratic rivals for being conventional.
In the 30-second
television ad, Obama says it's time for the president to
restore the United States' standing in the world and abandon
conventional ideas -- key themes from his standard
speech.
''We're going to
lead with our values and our ideals by deed and by
example,'' Obama says in the spot airing in New Hampshire.
''I want to go before the world and say America's
back. America is back.''
Obama, a
first-term senator from Illinois, has made his relatively
recent entry into national politics a selling point
for his campaign. In turn, he has repeatedly
criticized front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton as too
entrenched in the political establishment to bring any
effective change or end the unpopular war in Iraq.
''We are a beacon
of light around the world. At least that's what we can
be again. That's what we should be again,'' Obama says.
''When we break out of the conventional thinking and
we start reaching out to friend and foe alike, then I
am absolutely confident that we can restore America's
leadership in the world.''
The issue of
negotiating with countries unfriendly toward the United
States, such as Iran, has been a major difference between
Obama and Clinton. Clinton said during a debate that
she wouldn't sit down without conditions with enemies;
Obama said he would. The conflicting positions fed one
of the campaign's first foreign policy debates.
Obama also began
a three-day swing through New Hampshire on Monday,
planning to file his paperwork to get on the New Hampshire
primary ballot. (Philip Elliott, AP)