The war is raging in Texas between Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the Democratic Presidential nomination primary (and caucuses) — and a key battleground is the all-important TV airwaves. And here are two current warring ads.

First, Clinton’s “red telephone” ad:

There have been a few comments to this being Hillary Clinton’s nuclear cloud ad, similar to LBJ’s during the 1964 Johnson-Goldwater campaign for the Presidency. But this doesn’t come close. It’s a basic pitch, again, making the argument that Americans would be safer with Hillary Clinton’s experience.

And, First Read reports, the Obama campaign has fired back:

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said, “She had her red-phone moment; she had it in 2002,” when she and President Bush voted for the war.

The red phone reference is to an ad run by Walter Mondale in the Democratic primary against Gary Hart.

“We don’t think the ad’s going to be effective at all,” Plouffe also said, continuing, “she’s already had her red-phone moment… she answered affirmatively” on her vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq. “She did not read the NIE, so she did not do her homework either.”

When asked repeatedly about the ad on the call, Plouffe focused on “judgment.”

“Sen. Clinton’s red-phone moment in her career was in 2002,” he said again. “And she supported the Iraq war, supported president Bush. … Ultimately an ad like this is going to make people focus on judgment.”

So, the Obama campaign has now responded to the Clinton “red telephone” ad with its own ad that frames the race in terms of experience versus sound judgment:

UPDATE: The Clinton ad is sparking lots of comment:

–Political Radar likens it to the LBJ ad and from a Mondale ad…and on that score says it’s no coincidence:

The tone of the ad — which echoes the infamous Daisy Ad from the 1964 Johnson-Goldwater presidential race and the red phone ad former Vice President Walter Mondale ran against Gary Hart in their ‘84 race for the Democratic nomination — indicates that the Clinton campaign is pulling out the all the stops leading into the Ohio and Texas primaries.

Mondale’s ad, where a red phone rang threateningly in the middle of the night while a voiceover asked voters what kind of leader they wanted to “answer that phone”, ultimately worked in his favor: Mondale defeated Hart and secured the party nomination, though he lost in November to Ronald Reagan.

It seems Roy Spence, the creator of Mondale’s red phone ad, borrowed from his own portfolio in creating Clinton’s latest ad. Spence joined the New York senator’s presidential campaign after New Hampshire.

–National Review Online’ The Campaign Spot thinks it’d be a perfect McCain ad:

Still, it is awfully nice of Hillary to test out John McCain’s key theme against Obama. Too bad it’s only running in Texas; McCain could use the “Obama’s not ready to be commander in chief” message spread through Ohio, too.

If it had shown that the 3 a.m. call was about a possible nuclear attack, then it would be like that infamous 1964 one.

UPDATE: From reader Jen: “Who do I want answering the phone? John McCain.”

–Newsday’s Spin Cycle has the videos of the LBJ and Mondale ads and says the ad could have an unanticipated downside:

Some Democrats will no doubt view this as an unfortunate, negative turn. The flip side: Obama would eventually face this issue with the Republicans and McCain, so he may as well try to deal with it now.

The difference is that McCain has real national security and military credentials; Hillary has kind of faux credentials as a First Lady and a member of the Armed Services committee for a couple of years. Are they strong enough to carry this off?

She’s also a woman. On the one hand it’s amazing that the first serious female candidate is playing a strong, decisive military card, on the other hand you wonder how voters will react to the closing image of a woman taking the call at 3 am. If there are any sexist stereotypes lurking out there in Texas, this will draw them to the surface.

MY REACTION: I don’t react as strongly against this ad as some do (and as an independent voter I react very strongly against negative campaigning). Perhaps it’s because I was in the 8th grade watching TV when I saw the infamous LBJ ad that only aired once LIVE. That ad did shake me up and made me fear Barry Goldwater (I had only started becoming a political junkie and had not yet done extensive research.). This one is more polite, more subtle and it can be argued simply expands on Clinton’s constantly-repeated experience theme. The argument in this ad is nothing new and it is not done in the stark style of the LBJ ad.

The Obama campaign’s ad is quite good in that just as Clinton keeps returning to the idea of experience that’s safe and could keep you safe, Obama returns to his issue of judgment that will avoid getting the U.S. into situations that are unsafe — and his implication that it’s time to take a broom and sweep the government clean of those who got the U.S. into its current mess with their way of thinking.

Two good ads…so you could say it’s a draw. And, yes, McCain will most certainly use this theme since there is now a been there/done aspect since the vote-for-me-or-you-could-die theme is now out there. McCain’s camp now has to watch how the ad plays and do their own version with some adjustments…and they will.