The video: After making waves in the primary with her outlandish "Demon Sheep" spot, California GOP Senate candidate Carly Fiorina is back with a more traditional broadside against her Democratic rival, incumbent Barbara Boxer. The ad features footage of Boxer asking to be addressed as "Senator" instead of "ma'am" during a 2009 hearing, a title she's "appreciate" since she "worked so hard to get [it]." Fiorina's rejoinder: "Twenty-eight years in Washington and Barbara Boxer works hard for a title? I'll really go to work to end the arrogance in Washington." Boxer, who's up a few poll points in this tight race, recently launched her own "blistering" spot condemning Fiorina for giving herself generous pay raises as the former CEO of Hewlett Packard.
The reaction: This is part of Fiorina's larger strategy to portray Boxer as an "arrogant politician caught up in the trappings of power," says Maeve Reston of the Los Angeles Times. "Fiorina’s campaign laid the groundwork for the ad months ago" when it labeled the "ma'am" clip as "the 30 seconds Barbara Boxer doesn’t want you to see." How petty, says Nick Baumann at Mother Jones. "God forbid that a woman politely ask to be addressed in a way she prefers." Meanwhile, Boxer's new spot "focuses on actual issues," and is "a starting point for a conversation about policy...the contrast between these two ads is illuminating." Watch Fiorina's latest:
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