Ad takes wrong track.Byline: The Register-Guard Sen. John Kerry's campaign is running a new series of ads that feature newspaper headlines to suggest that all is not well in President George Bush's America. One of those headlines is from The Register-Guard. It's flattering flat·ter 1 v. flat·tered, flat·ter·ing, flat·ters v.tr. 1. To compliment excessively and often insincerely, especially in order to win favor. 2. to make the big time in this fashion, but Kerry's ad makes the headline look like something other than what it was. The headline is from a Sept. 20 editorial commenting on a national intelligence estimate that offered a gloomy assessment of prospects for stability in Iraq. The editorial took issue with President Bush's upbeat appraisal of conditions in the country; Bush had proclaimed that "freedom is on the march in Iraq." The editorial's main headline said, "Freedom isn't on the march." The smaller headline underneath said, "Bush should be candid about outlook in Iraq." The Kerry ad, released last Friday and titled "Right Track," got all the words right, but displayed them differently and, in the fuzzy text below, added what looks like a reporter's byline. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , what was published in The Register-Guard as an editorial showed up in Kerry's ad looking more like a news story. People who work for newspapers may be hypersensitive hy·per·sen·si·tive adj. Responding excessively to the stimulus of a foreign agent, such as an allergen; abnormally sensitive. hy to these distinctions, but the alteration is significant. What the newspaper offered as an expression of opinion was presented in the ad as a statement of fact. Editorials are understood to be debatable de·bat·a·ble adj. 1. Being such that formal argument or discussion is possible. 2. Open to dispute; questionable. 3. In dispute, as land or territory claimed by more than one country. assertions, so a headline that says "Freedom isn't on the march" invites readers to disagree. A headline on a news story, in contrast, is expected to summarize a collection of facts from various sources. The ad took an impermissible im·per·mis·si·ble adj. Not permitted; not permissible: impermissible behavior. im liberty when it graphically substituted one for the other. Still, it's heady stuff to find out that the Kerry campaign is reading The Register-Guard's editorials. And if the Kerry campaign is paying attention Noun 1. paying attention - paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people); "his attentiveness to her wishes"; "he spends without heed to the consequences" attentiveness, heed, regard , maybe President Bush's organization is monitoring this space as well. Condoleezza Rice isn't likely to burst into the Oval Office any time soon and say, "Mr. President Mr. President can refer to:
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