You know those stupid ads that depict before and after shots where the before is always a woman without makeup frowning and the after photo is much brighter and crisper and features the same woman made-up and smiling? You're supposed to be, "Wow, [product X] must be great, look how it made her happier, prettier and appear more in focus!" Well, this is the political equivalent. I didn't know people were really able to be so blatantly manipulated. Clearly Rudy disagrees.

Hmm, who knew that New York pre-Rudy was a black and white urban jungle whereas post-Rudy it was sunny, in color and had lots of trees. It appears that the Giuliani campaign has been raiding the New York City tourism bureau's video library.

This ad is perhaps most notable because it casts Giuliani as the "turnaround guy," which is exactly what Romney is running on. The strategy here is to bypass the intro ad altogether, for obvious reasons, and subtly go after the frontrunner on his turf in New Hampshire on his strength. What's conspicuously absent: any reference to 9/11 or terrorism, probably a wise strategy since the moment you start making claims about 9/11 you're asking for more scrutiny and that's the last thing he needs. Rudy would much prefer that his fragile 9/11 facade remain in place. One cliche about Rudy that this ad does reinforce though is that he is "America's Mayor." The post-Rudy imagery of New York looks like the overwrought nationalism from Pearl Harbor, complete with rising sun, tree lined street and a child hoisting an American flag.

Here Giuliani is playing the competence card over the fear card and going after Romney in what is essentially Romney country. If he's not going to devote more time to early states, as his campaign manager seemed to imply on a strategy conference call on Monday, it seems to me he should be trying to secure a strong second, which means going after the guy who's nipping at your heels for the runner-up spot: John McCain. Instead Giuliani is going after the leader, which I suspect will be a futile endeavor without further resources devoted to the state.