FIERY MCCAIN WEB AD ZINGS ROMNEY OVER EXPERIENCE

Senator McCain of Arizona is using video of fiery terrorist attacks to quarrel with Mitt Romney’s suggestion that foreign policy experience is overrated. The Web advertisement opens with jarring news footage of a nighttime explosion, the sounds of sirens, and images of the wounded being hustled through the streets. Pictures of hooded men waving automatic weapons and prayer books follow over a soundtrack of shouting, chanting, and eerie music.

“Mitt Romney says the next president doesn’t need foreign policy experience,” an announcer declares before adding, simply, “John McCain for President.”

The ad, which the McCain campaign said it was paying to place on news and information Web sites, cites comments Mr. Romney made last week on Fox News Channel. “If we want somebody who has a lot of experience in foreign policy, we can simply go to the State Department and pluck out one of the tens of thousands of people who work there,” Mr. Romney told Fox. “That’s not how we choose a president. A president is not a foreign policy expert. A president is a leader who understands how to make difficult decisions and does so in a way that brings together the best voices, that considers the upsides and downsides, and projects the credibility and the strength that America has always projected in circumstances like this.”

Mr. Romney never said flatly that foreign policy experience was unnecessary, though he noted that President Reagan had foreign policy triumphs without any significant prior exposure to international issues. Mr. Romney’s camp countered with a Web ad praising Mr. McCain as a “hero” but claiming he is not a “full-spectrum conservative” like the ex-governor. Almost all of the ad’s language comes from Mr. Romney’s endorsement by National Review.

Two of the top rivals for the Democratic nomination, Senators Clinton and Obama, have been engaged in a similar debate over the value of experience. Like Mr. Romney, Mr. Obama has argued that good judgment matters more than lengthy exposure to an issue. If Messrs. McCain and Obama win their respective nominations, Mr. McCain’s ad challenging Mr. Romney could easily be retooled into an attack on Mr. Obama.

KUCINICH BACKS OBAMA AS SECOND CHOICE

Senator Obama’s plea to Iowa voters who are supporting other candidates to make him their second choice has yielded at least one significant victory. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the anti-war Ohio congressman languishing in the polls, issued a statement yesterday urging his supporters to turn to Mr. Obama as a backup. The quasi-endorsement is noteworthy because of the complex Democratic caucus process in Iowa, where a candidate in each voting precinct must attain 15% to remain viable and qualify for delegates. If a candidate does not reach the threshold in a precinct, his or her supporters must pick another contender. With Mr. Kucinich polling at 1% or less, that is likely to occur throughout the state on Thursday, giving Mr. Obama the potential to pick up a few crucial votes in a tight race. Mr. Kucinich is not dropping out of the race, but his statement was an acknowledgement that he was highly unlikely to win. “I hope Iowans will caucus for me as their first choice … because of my singular positions on the war, on health care, and trade,” Mr. Kucinich said, according to the Associated Press. “But in those caucus locations where my support doesn’t reach the necessary threshold, I strongly encourage all of my supporters to make Barack Obama as their second choice.” Mr. Obama said in a statement that he had “a lot of respect” for Mr. Kucinich and that he was “honored” to have his support.

CHENEY THE BUTT OF JOKES ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Vice President Cheney took a verbal beating on the campaign trail yesterday, as the two leading Democratic candidates made him a butt of their jokes in their bid to woo voters in the final days before the Iowa caucus. “The vice president shot somebody,” Senator Clinton told Iowans in Ames with obvious amusement, referencing Mr. Cheney’s much-ballyhooed hunting accident last year. She was trying to illustrate her point that the Bush administration had exceeded even her own low expectations for its incompetence. “I thought, ‘I’ll never be shocked or surprised again.'” In Council Bluffs last night, Senator Obama expanded on his frequent play on the surprise disclosure last year that Mr. Cheney and he were actually distant cousins. “You hope you’re related to somebody cool,” the Illinois senator said, citing baseball legends Hank Aaron and Willie Mays as enticing possibilities. “Dick Cheney — that’s a letdown.” In both cases, the crowds ate it up.