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Jun 23, 2008 11:04 pm US/Central
'Green Screen' Flap For Ad With Coleman, Wife
(WCCO)
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Some liberal bloggers say Laurie Coleman's presence in a campaign ad was faked. They say she used what's called a "green screen", and wasn't even in the same room as her husband.
CBS
As we move toward Election Day this Campaign 2008, Minnesotans are seeing more and more political ads. The latest for Sen. Norm Coleman is causing quite a debate, but the debate has nothing to do with the content of the commercial.
Some liberal bloggers say Laurie Coleman's presence in a campaign ad was faked. They say she used what's called a "green screen", and wasn't even in the same room as her husband. A green screen can be used to superimpose backgrounds to make it appear that a person is somewhere he or she is not.
Bloggers say the Coleman campaign was making the Colemans' relationship appear to be something it isn't. The Coleman campaign moved quickly to prove the bloggers wrong.
The campaign allowed outtakes of the commercial to be released. The outtakes clearly show Laurie Coleman was there for the filming. But in cyberspace the debate rages on.
"By putting Laurie Coleman in this ad, the Coleman campaign has invited scrutiny on an issue they thought was long forgotten," said Professor Larry Jacobs of the Humphrey Institute.
Laurie Coleman is an actress, model and entrepreneur whose career has led to her spend time out of state.
"It is not OK in our book to attack the senator's wife," said Erin Rath of the Coleman campaign.
Campaign staffers are indignant over any suggestion that Laurie Coleman is anything but a devoted wife and mother who juggles career, husband and two grown kids.
"Norm and Laurie Coleman have been married for 27 years. They have lived in the same house on the same street in St. Paul for 20 years," said Rath.
However, Jacobs said the ad is a gift for the struggling Franken campaign.
"They have now launched an ad that's taken the attention away from Al Franken and put it right on Senator Coleman," said Jacobs.
And while these debates in cyberspace may seem obscure to some, the campaigns take them very seriously. Late last week the Coleman camp released this ad on You Tube, entitled "Al Franken Green Screen Conspiracy."
The Franken campaign calls that YouTube video "bizarre" and "childish."
In another sign of the times, both Coleman and Franken have Facebook pages. This isn't scientific, but a check on Monday night shows Franken with 9,600 "friends" and Coleman has about 2,100.
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