Bush can only be seen in Obama’s ads

President Bush can only be found in Democratic campaign ads, according to a new study. 

The study also found that Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) has aired more negative spots since this summer's political conventions than has rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

{mosads}According to the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project, 77 percent of Obama’s ads aired in the week following the Republican convention were negative, compared to 56 percent of Sen. McCain’s spots.

Since the conventions ended, the campaigns have spent $15 million on television advertising. While nearly all of Obama’s ads were paid for by his campaign, most of McCain’s ads were run in cooperation with the Republican National Committee.

The bulk of the ads ran in the same battleground states that were targeted in 2004, according to the study.

“Where the campaigns advertise tells us a great deal about the candidates’ electoral strategies. Post-convention ad buys give us the first insights into the campaigns’ assessments of where they think they are competitive as the fall campaign heats up. Advertising represents reality,” said Ken Goldstein, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the director of the Wisconsin Advertising Project.

McCain is significantly outspending Obama in Iowa, Pennsylvania and Minnesota, while the Democrat is pumping much more money into Indiana and Virginia.