My favorite ad of the cycle – you betcha!

One of the cool things about living in Cleveland during an election cycle is that you get to see every ad for statewide candidates that anyone ever runs.  People poo-poo on Cuyahoga centric thinking among Ohio Dems, which is fair, but just turn on the TV in prime time and that’ll tell you how important this nook of Ohio is to candidates.  Kasich and Ted are throwing haymakers on the air.  Likely the most competitive gubernatorial ad war since 1998 (we all know who lost that one, don’t we).

I don’t see a problem with any of the ads except the now constant refrain from Kasich about “Time’s up Ted.”  Which suggests that former Kasich staffer, homeland security consultant, and lifelong suckling of the government teat, Jon Keeling, was aware of this messaging for months, given that this has been Keeling’s refrain all year.   Which isn’t surprising, given that we’re hearing that Keeling is being paid by a donor to blog for Kasich.  No wonder he’s such a homer – wonder if you can take that check while working on the government payroll? Hmmm….I digress.

People don’t like that messaging.  “Time’s up Ted,” is too personal, mean spirited, it sounds like a victory lap, and people still kinda like Ted.  I think this was a mistake.  Which was probably predictable, given the 6 month victory lap Republicans have been displaying like Terrell Owens in the end zone.  Not a good way to finish.

Ted’s ads are message driven in the extreme, and by message, I mean “Wall Street”.  The independent expenditures chime right in.  And my favorite ad of the cycle is below – two seniors sitting at their kitchen table ripping Wall Street the way your Uncle Frank and Aunt Bertie probably do every single day.

And here’s the second in the series, with a “you betcha” thrown in for good measure.

It boils this election down to its essence.  The same people who got us into this catastrophe now want to be back in charge, paying their friends, re-instating the policies that created the mess in the first place.  Most average voters get this, and when they get it, this ad reflects how average voters react to that crazy notion.