Democratic TV ad shows party disorder

THE ISSUE A Democratic television commercial showed phony headlines superimposed on a copy of the Honolulu Advertiser.

PERHAPS unaccustomed to the role of underdog, Democrats appear to be in disarray in their attempt to prevent a second term for Gov. Linda Lingle. A television commercial showing a Honolulu Advertiser front page with bogus headlines reveals the Democrats' desperation in the gubernatorial race.

Displaying newspaper pages or excerpts of articles or editorials in political advertisements on television has become commonplace, used to illustrate viewpoints or boast of endorsements. Showing false headlines beneath a newspaper's masthead is a deplorable departure from that practice.

The series of TV commercials was prepared by Democratic spokesman Brickwood Galuteria, the radio deejay who became a comic figure as party chairman. The ads were purchased by the campaign of Malama Solomon, the party's nominee for lieutenant governor, under the unwatchful eye of gubernatorial candidate Randy Iwase.

The TV ads consisted of a montage of Advertiser front pages, all framed in an Oct. 11 edition that carried the headline, "Isle oil companies still scrutiny-free." In place of that headline, the TV ads carried pasted-in headlines reading, "Iraq War See No End in Sight," "No Child Left Behind Leaves Many Behind" and "Hawaii's housing highest in nation."

"It wasn't a fake headline; it was an edited headline," Galuteria said in delivering one of the funniest lines during his association with the Democratic Party. Mike McCartney, who succeeded Galuteria as the party chairman in May, properly apologized for the fake headlines. "It was just wrong and I don't defend it," he said. "It was a mistake."

Solomon went into hiding after the Advertiser's editor complained about the fakery, and Iwase claimed no responsibility, although state law requires the governor and lieutenant governor candidates to run as a team.

"I wasn't involved with the ad," Iwase said. "She put that ad together on her own." So much for leadership qualities in the Democratic choice to be the next governor.