The Play: Defining and being defined  The Strategy: Ms. Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and Harvard law professor, confronted questions this week over her reported Native American roots. The campaign of Sen. Scott Brown, her Republican opponent, used the issue to question her credibility, and other GOP operatives raised questions about whether she had used her ancestry to advance her academic career.  Ms. Warrens belabored response to the issue distracted from her efforts to promote an image of integrity as someone who has fought for those without power, mostly by challenging banks and other financial institutions on behalf of consumers.  The issue arose when the Boston Herald reported that Ms. Warren had for years listed herself as a member of a minority group in a legal directory, because she had distant Native American relatives. The newspaper also reported that the law school in 1996 had cited her minority background in response to complaints that its faculty was too male and too white.  There is no evidence that Ms. Warren gained a job or a promotion by asserting minority status. The only known context in which she identified herself as a minority-group member is in the 1986-95 editions of the directory of the Association of American Law Schools. Her major stints of employment as a law professor were at the University of Houston Law Center from 1978 to 1983, the University of Texas School of Law (1981-87), the University of Pennsylvania (1987-92) and Harvard Law School (1992-present). Officials from all four schools issued statements, released by the Warren campaign, saying they had hired Ms. Warren on the basis of merit.  In an interview, a representative of the University of Texas School of Law said that, in response to press queries, the school was searching its files to see if Ms. Warren identified herself as a member of a minority group in any documents relating to her job application or hiring. The search isnt yet complete, but so far no one has turned up anything that indicates she said that, said Kirston Fortune, assistant dean for communications for the law school.  Still, the question hovered for several days. Ms. Warren said family lore held that she was connected to the Delaware and Cherokee tribes; the Warren campaign failed to document a connection. She said she had listed herself as a minority-group member in hopes of meeting others who shared her background. Eventually, a New England genealogist said he had found a record suggesting that Ms. Warren was 1/32 Native American.  No candidate likes to spend day after day on defense, so Ms Warren tried in different ways to shift the focus back to Mr. Brownfor example, by attacking him for taking advantage of provisions of the Obama health-care law, which he voted against, by keeping his 23-year-old daughter on his family insurance policy.  Midweek, the Warren campaign launched a new television advertisement in which President Barack Obama sings the candidates praises. In the ad, Mr. Obama cites Ms. Warrens advocacy for the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a new independent agency that would have one simple overriding mission: standing up for consumers and middle-class families. The ads launch was planned before the ancestry controversy surfaced, but it turned out to be a well-timed thrust in her effort to define herself rather than be defined.  The Result: Critics said the Warren campaigns inability to quickly quell the ancestry matter was a sign of Ms. Warrens relative inexperience as a candidate. It remains to be seen if the dustup has any lasting effect on Ms. Warrens profile among voters, but Republicans were delighted to see a star Democratic candidate spending so much time on defense in a race that will depend greatly on how voters are introduced to her.  Ms. Warrens television ads underscore the strengths she brings to the race. She has raised more campaign cash than any other Senate challenger and is running ads at a time when Mr. Brown isnt.  With Mr. Obamas appearance, Ms. Warren became the first Senate Democratic candidate to deploy the president in advertising. Unlike other Senate battleground states like Montana and Missouri, where Mr. Obama is unpopular, Massachusetts is one state where his coattails could help Democrats win a Senate seat.  Below, see the recent Elizabeth Warren campaign ad.
A controversy over Elizabeth Warren's reported Native American roots has distracted from the Democratic Senate candidate's efforts to promote herself as a champion of the powerless.