Richardson campaign’s newest ad is brilliant

Gov. Bill Richardson’s new television ad is a brilliant, touching and effective spot that portrays him as a man with courage and a big heart.

Whether the 60-second commercial will make any difference in Iowa and New Hampshire, where it began running today but where Richardson’s campaign has, at best, stagnated, remains to be seen.

The ad includes interviews with Bill Barloon, the late David Daliberti and his wife Kathy, who praised the governor for securing the release of the two American men from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 1995.

“He’s the only one that was willing to leave his family, his wife, behind, travel to a dangerous section of the world, for two men he didn’t even know,” Kathy Daliberti says in the ad.

“Here’s this big guy, you know, he is a pretty big guy, and he’s got a heart as big as he is, one of the kindest guys, you know, just so nice to us,” Barloon says in the ad, tears in his eyes. “He said, ‘You guys are going home,’ and our reaction was much like mine is now.”

Simple words. Simple music playing in the background. It’s a simple ad that ends with Richardson saying he is “honored to approve this message.” Just like that, you get the message the campaign wants you to believe: Richardson has the most experience to lead the country in these times and also has the courage and heart to do it.

The ad will tug at the heartstrings of many voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, but whether that turns into support remains to be seen. Richardson is currently at about 9 percent in recent polls in Iowa and eight percent in recent polls in New Hampshire. In both states, his average support in polls had climbed above 10 percent early in the summer but has fallen slightly in recent months.

The timing of the ad is smart. Though Richardson has spent more money than any other presidential candidate advertising in Iowa thus far, the Democratic frontrunners have begun spending millions in the state, and their ads will consume a lot of time and attention. Since he has less money, Richardson needed an ad that would stand out during the ad blitz that will consume the rest of the year. He got it.

To learn more about the ad, click here. Here it is: