On both C-SPAN and NPR this morning they were talking about President Bush's new ad campaign. (Funny that the Republicans are spending over $4 million on this ad campaign, but I've already seen or heard about 6 ads, which they haven't had to pay a dime for me to see.)

Anyway, I thought the ads were well done. The basic message was that we're turning a corner. That we're coming out of a recession, and while the economy continues to improve, more jobs will be created. And it talks about how we rebounded from the worst attack on America in history, and how we're recovering and becoming safer. You may not agree with these positions, but the fact is that the ads are at least optimistic and forward-looking.

Some people, including some family members of those that died on 9/11, are criticizing the ads. Honestly, if you've seen the ads, this type of criticism is completely unwarranted.

9/11 was the single largest event to impact America in the past 3 years. Would it really be more suitable for the Bush campaign to not mention it at all? Of course, there are more and less tasteful ways to mention 9/11. But these ads are fine.

It's too much to expect that negative campaigning won't take place, on both sides. But with pundits predicting how vicious the campaign is going to be, it's good (and smart) for Bush to start off on a positive note.

Unfortunately for the Bush campaign, I think if he continues through the next 6 months to pander to the evangelical Right policy-wise, he's going to alienate a lot of Independents and Libertarians who might have otherwise voted for him based simply on his foreign policy. If I had to guess (but be forewarned...my political prediction powers are actually pretty lame), I'd guess that November will see a smaller voter turnout among swing voters, but an increased turnout in the polarized, hardcore Left and Right ones.