Question Dodger

Just days before the election, a new ad pulls no punches in making the case that the presidential candidates' response to Hurricane Sandy reveals a core difference: President Obama's leadership during this national crisis has been strong and steadfast, but Mitt Romney has continued to try to obscure his extreme views, including statements about making radical cuts to FEMA.

The ad, with a voiceover by acclaimed actor Alec Baldwin, goes straight to questions of character, juxtaposing images of Obama and Romney during and after the harrowing storm—including footage of Romney dodging reporters' questions about whether he'd gut FEMA—and underscoring what is perhaps the defining difference between the candidates: Barack Obama is a leader who can be counted on to do what's right, but Mitt Romney won't level with the American people about the extreme positions he's taken, such as cutting FEMA.

During a primary debate, Romney appeared to imply that FEMA funding is "immoral," and a statement released Wednesday by the Romney campaign did not reverse Romney's previously stated position that if he is elected, FEMA could be in for major cuts.

MoveOn.org Political Action is releasing the ad, which features the instrumental track "God Moving Over the Face of the Water" by multi-platinum selling artist Moby. It was written and directed by Scott Z. Burns and produced by Davis Guggenheim and Lawrence Bender, the creative team behind the Academy Award winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."

"It is chilling to think about hurricane Sandy, or any other natural disaster, happening during a Romney administration in which FEMA is cut and families are left to fend for themselves," said the ad's writer and director, Scott Z. Burns.

Burns continued, "Mitt Romney's failure to level with the public about where he stands on FEMA is alarming, dangerous, and unacceptable. It's especially troubling given that Romney's oil-lobbyist-backed energy policies would make climate change worse, meaning more killer storms."