One of the biggest lines Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin uncorked during his acceptance speech Wednesday night was his appeal to the disaffected young voters who were once among President Obama's staunchest supporters.
“College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life,†Mr. Ryan said.
In a matter of hours, Mr. Ryan's message was echoed by Crossroads Generation, an offshoot of the Karl Rove-founded “super PAC†American Crossroads, Young Republican National Federation and other Republican youth groups. On Thursday afternoon, Crossroads Generation posted an advertisement that tracked Mr. Ryan's words with almost eerie precision, ending with a young man tearing a poster of Mr. Obama off his wall.
The group and the campaign are barred by law from coordinating their advertising or spending with each other. A Ryan spokesman said the campaign had no knowledge of the ad until it went online. Derek Flowers, the executive director of Crossroads Generation, said that the advertisement had actually been in production since before Mitt Romney picked Mr. Ryan as his running mate.
“We were pleasantly surprised to hear the line in his speech last night and so decided there's no better time to release our ad,†Mr. Flowers said.
