Viewing with Alarm

The TV commercial opens with a bespectacled attorney The TV commercial opens with a bespectacled attorney reading a last will and testament. Incongruously present are the not so dear departed, hugely enjoying themselves as the lawyer tells the grieving heirs: "To Ronald Reagan we leave a recession, inflation at 12.4% and rising, gas prices sky high." Chortling merrily at the dubious bequest are--could it be? -- Democrats Jimmy Carter and Tip O'Neill.

Well, not exactly. The 30-second spot, which was shown on 59 stations last week, features Actors Ed Beheler and Edwin Steffe, who bear uncanny resemblances to the former President and the House Speaker. The commercial is part of a $10 million advertising campaign, sponsored by the Republican Party, in which the G.O.P. points with pride to its accomplishments and views with alarm the legacy of its Democratic opponents as congressional elections approach. A companion ad shows a congressional elections approach. A companion ad shows a couple dusting off their camper and taking a vacation with friends now that inflation has eased. The ad's tag line: "Republicans are beginning to make things better."

Democrats, including Edwin Steffe's real-life counterpart, complain that the Republicans and their New York agency (Korey, Kay & Partners) have stretched the bounds of truth too far even for a political advertisement. Harrumphs O'Neill: "Better for whom? It's only better for the wealthy." Congressman Tony Coelho of California, chairman of the House Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, correctly points out that the current recession began six months after Reagan took office. The Democrats, who do not have the money for a similar campaign of their own, threatened that they may demand free time for a rebuttal. Of course, even if the Democrats get on the air, they may find it difficult to top the G.O.P. in finding a convincing actor to play the President.

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