快跑！广告来啦！

　　The appearance this week of TV ads praising President Bush signaled the beginning of the public battle between Bush and Kerry. In the eight long months from now till November 4, the American public will be bombarded by political advertising. Both camps in the presidential contest will air ads, as will the candidates for 33 Senate seats and all 435 House seats. In addition, there will be issue ads promoting a particular stance in one of the many political controversies (over abortion, the death penalty, gun control, gay marriage, taxes etc.) that divide Americans; these ads also tend to support, even if indirectly, a candidate for the presidency or Congress.

　　Not every voter enjoys the attention; to some it feels too much like psychological assault. Remember that in the US commercials pop up every ten minutes, so an evening of watching the boob tube can expose the hapless viewer to plenty of political solicitation.

　　In today's cartoon David Horsey portrays the assault as more than psychological. "Incoming!" is what soldiers shout when they believe an artillery shell is headed for their position; other soldiers are supposed to dive for cover, as the boy is doing in the cartoon foreground.

　　What are the messages on the TV sets bursting through the roof? Four criticize George Bush: "Bush lied" (probably about the situation in Iraq). "Bush: corporate tool. Vote Kerry!" And, partly obscured at the top of the cartoon, "Bush AWOL." One of the smaller sets says "Bush hates trees" -- an appeal to voters worried about the environment.

　　In favor of Bush we see "Kerry = abortion and gay marriage." Below that is "Kerry: another Massachusetts liberal. Vote for Bush!" (The other Massachusetts liberals would be the widely loathed Senator Edward Kennedy and former Governor Michael Dukakis, whom the elder Bush trounced in 1988.) Another set says "Kerry loves Jane Fonda," the American film star who was a prominent opponent of the US war effort in Vietnam; a visit to Hanoi that she made during the war is still remembered as traitorous by many right-wingers. Difficult to make out in the upper right-hand corner is one of the best jibes: "Kerry looks French." A debatable point, but the man does speak French rather well; it's a skill he'll want to keep under wraps for the next eight months.