This is what I'm talking about.

George W. Bush's approval rating hits an all-time low of 29 percent in the latest Gallup poll, an important marker given the prominence and history of the organization, and Pollster.com now estimates that just 27.7 percent of Americans approve of the job that the President is doing. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is up for reelection in Kentucky this cycle, has been willing to stand with the President at almost every turn this Congress, particularly on the issue of Iraq. But does the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee just assume that Kentuckians know about McConnell's fealty to President Bush? No. They're running ads in Kentucky that make the connection quite explicit.

Similar ads are now running in Minnesota (against Norm Coleman), Maine (against Susan Collins), and New Hampshire (against John Sununu), each of whom face potentially difficult reelection battles this cycle yet continue to go against the will of their constituents and indeed what's best for America and Iraq at this point by refusing to give up their support for an undending U.S. military presence in Iraq. (You can see all of the ads and find out how to help keep them on the air here.) While this isn't a terribly large ad buy -- in fact it's a really small ad buy at just $90,000 in total -- the ads will no doubt be run over and over again for free, both on the national cable nets as well as the local television news, greatly increasing their impact.

So this is what I'd like to see more of, not only from the party committees but also from the outside groups who purport to want to forward the progressive cause. Begin running ads when an issue is still on the public's mind. Run ads when the momentum is on your side and just a little more of a push could win even more support for your efforts. Don't just stockpile cash until the last few weeks before an election when everyone and their mother is running ads, thus diluting your message. And when you are running ads, don't shy away from hitting hard. Almost every Republican challenger and incumbent should have to see his or her face morph into George W. Bush at least once over the course of the next 17 months. The time to start is now.

Update [2007-7-10 11:44:40 by Jonathan Singer]: I'm hearing that the $90,000 figure cited above from Chris Cillizza over at The Fix is at least a bit under what the DSCC is intending to spend to get the ad on air. The bottom line for the ad will be in the six figures, with the potential for more dollars to be spent as the ad buy -- and the debate over Iraq -- progresses. I'm also hearing that the ad has already run on MSNBC.