Dole, in Santa Barbara, Readies Hard-Hitting Ad

After dropping in on Chicago to lob rhetorical grenades at President Clinton and the conventioneering Democrats, Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole retreated to this balmy resort town for a bit of sunbathing and relaxation.

But the campaign’s attack on Clinton’s anti-drug-war record continued with a new television ad that draws from one of history’s most controversial political advertisements.

In contrast to this idyllic setting on the California coast, the ad begins with a video clip of the 1964 “Daisy” ad used by President Lyndon B. Johnson against Republican rival Barry Goldwater, in which a young girl plucks flower blossoms as a nuclear bomb explodes.

The Dole ad compares illegal drugs in the 1990s with the threat of nuclear attack in the 1960s, and accuses Clinton of backpedaling on a pledge to aggressively fight the drug war.

A Dole spokesman said that the ad--scheduled to hit Chicago and other cities today--would be worked into rotation with an ad on Dole’s economic plan, which is currently running as part of a $3.5-million air-time purchase.

Campaign staffers said that Dole spent a balmy summer day Monday relaxing and conferring with advisors, including his California campaign manager, Ken Khachigian.

Activities today include an economic round-table meeting in the morning with Santa Barbara residents, Gov. Pete Wilson, Republican Rep. Andrea Seastrand of the Santa Barbara area and economic analysts.

The Biltmore, a Spanish-style resort located on 20 manicured acres in an unincorporated area between the wealthy community of Montecito and upscale Santa Barbara, earns four stars and four diamonds from Mobil and AAA, respectively.

The sort of accommodations in which Dole is staying go for $675 for a suite up to about $1,375 for an entire five-room cottage, and offer views of grounds lushly landscaped with palm trees and bougainvillea. Other parts of the resort offer sweeping views of the Channel Islands and the well-lighted offshore oil rigs.

The new anti-drug, anti-Clinton ad is said to feature graphic images of heroin and cocaine use, including a child smoking a crack pipe.

But media analyst Kathleen Hall Jamieson, author of “Packaging the President,” warns that such strong imagery often backfires.