Obama campaign starts TV ads today

Sen. Barack Obama today launched his first TV ad of the North Carolina primary.

The 30-second ad featues Obama's message of "fighting for the middle class and promoting jobs," according to Obama communications director Robert Gibbs.

In the ad, Obama says he will to fight to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.

Gibbs said the purchase of the ad was "significant" and the ad was running across North Carolina, but he did not provide any specifics on the cost.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, who made her first campaign swing across the state on Thursday, has not yet aired any TV commercials in North Carolina's May 6th primary contest.

The Obama campaign also announced that as of today it had opened 13 offices across North Carolina in all the major cities as well as in some smaller communities such as Elizabeth City and Hickory. The campaign headquarters is in Raleigh.

The TV ads and the offices are indicative of the aggressive grass roots campaign that Obama plans to wage here, according to Craig Shirmer, Obama's state director.

Over the past three days, 3,000 people have attended Obama organizational meetings in North Carolina, Shirmer said. He said 700 people showed up in Charlotte alone at an organizational event Thursday night.

He promised "an unprecedented grass roots effort" that would engage many new voters including young people and the unaffiliated into the election process.