RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb has a television ad ready to air featuring praise from his late boss Ronald Reagan - and Nancy Reagan called on him Friday to cancel it. Webb, who was Reagan's Navy secretary before Webb switched to the Democratic Party, uses the ultimate GOP icon to send a sentimental message to conservatives and moderates courted by his Republican opponent, Sen. George Allen. The ad is scheduled to begin airing next week.
But a three-paragraph letter from the former first lady's office said the use of footage of Reagan, who died in 2004, is ``neither authorized nor appropriate.''
The 30-second ad opens with video of Reagan praising Webb during a commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1985, when Reagan was president and Webb, a Navy grad, was an assistant secretary of defense. ``James' gallantry as a Marine in Vietnam won him the Navy Cross and other decorations,'' Reagan says on the video. |