Johnson ad a 'preemptive strike' on speech issue

By Kevin Woster, Journal staff | Wednesday, July 30, 2008

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Sen. Tim Johnson and his staff have not decided whether the incumbent Democrat will debate his Republican challenger, state Rep. Joel Dykstra, in the 2008 U.S. Senate campaign.

But they believe a new campaign advertisement is scoring points for Johnson while addressing the issue of the senator's speech impairments left from a December 2006 brain hemorrhage.

Johnson campaign manager Steve Jarding of Rapid City said Tuesday that the campaign received "a couple hundred phone calls and at least that many e-mails" praising Johnson's first TV commercial, which aired Monday. The commercial, titled "Headstrong," includes an exchange between Johnson and his wife, Barbara, as they sit at kitchen table of their son Brendan in Sioux Falls.

In a lighthearted style, the Johnsons address the senator's brain injury, slow recovery and continued frustration with his impaired speech, an issue that Tim and Barbara Johnson "wanted to take head-on," Jarding said.

"Honestly, it was a way for him to look into a camera and say: 'You know, I'm not exactly where I want to be yet, but I am making progress. My speech needs work,'" Jarding said. "We thought that was something he wanted to say. We thought that was something he needed to say."

The campaign was astute in shaping its first advertisement around Johnson and his wife, and especially by addressing the senator's impaired speech, Black Hills State University political science professor Pam Carriveau said. Along with addressing the speech issue in words, it gives Johnson a chance to show in a humorous exchange with his wife that he's still the guy he was before falling ill, Carriveau said.

"Personally, I'm not concerned about his capabilities, but a number of people in this state seem to be," she said. "This preemptive strike, this upfront attempt to deal with the issue and let him define it himself, seems like a very smart move."

Johnson is playing to a largely receptive audience in South Dakota, a state filled with "very polite people," Carriveau said.

"They're not the kind of people who are going to say that he's not qualified for office because of this problem he's had," she said. "In fact, they find that rude."

But it's a big enough issue that, even in a race where Johnson is heavily favored and well financed, his campaign chose to address it with the first televised advertisement.

"The response has been good," Jarding said. "We think it's doing what we were hoping it would do."

Johnson's speech could become a more prominent issue if the senator agrees to debate with Dykstra. The Republican has already accepted invitations to several. Johnson has not agreed to any, yet. Both have been invited to appear Aug. 20 at the DakotaFest farm show near Mitchell, a popular kick-off event for campaign debates and forums.

Dykstra pointed out that Johnson appeared with challenger John Thune at Dakotafest in 2002. And then-Sen. Tom Daschle faced Thune there in 2004.

Dykstra hopes Johnson will do the same this year.

"I think it's his choice. I think the people of South Dakota deserve to see their candidates in that kind of forum," he said Tuesday. "I think that helps people put their decision in context. The voters deserve that kind of an opportunity."

Jarding said South Dakota voters are well acquainted with Johnson, his performance in office and his philosophy. So voters don't need a debate to know who the incumbent is and what he stands for, Jarding said.

Johnson and his campaign are considering the debate invitations and will make some decisions within the next two weeks, Jarding said.

"We're still looking," he said. "We'll have to decide soon."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com