Ads Infinitum: White's 'Don't Mess With...'

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White's campaign is buying student newspaper ads that accuse his Republican opponent, Rick Perry, of playing politics with state universities.

The full-page ads ran in student papers at Texas Tech and Texas A&M universities. They cite editorials in The Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle that are critical of Perry and state leaders over higher education policy, and they encourage students to volunteer with the White campaign.

White's critique comes after at least two Perry-appointed university regents said they were pressured to support the governor over his former opponent in the GOP primary, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. A recent report also noted that the governor raises political funds from such appointees.

The Perry campaign responded with criticism of its own, including the fact that White won't voluntarily release his pre-2009 tax returns, as the governor has done for years: "Bill White is a liberal trial lawyer and shady businessman who refuses to release his tax returns and supports Obamacare. You will see that in an ad also."

Here's the Texas Tech ad, courtesy of The Daily Toreador: