Too early to tell how effective this ad is, slamming Sen. Norm Coleman for his Iraq war vote (via TPM):
But...wow. Wow.
My heart just aches for that mama. When she breaks and can't keep talking, I really feel it hard.
Will the rest of Minnesota feel it? That's the real question and I think they will. In fact, this ad is so strong, I think it has the potential to be a tideturner...
(EDIT: Ha. Now I know how to embed video on DKos. Thanks, Terre and sgilman!)
While Norm has received a largely positive pass in opinion polls, people need to remember that when Sen. Wellstone's life was cut tragically short, and he and Coleman were deadlocked in the polls, Wellstone had started to pull away after he delivered his controversial "no" on the Iraq War vote.
That wasn't the result of an anti-war crowd rallying to a pacifist hero. They were already very pro-Wellstone. No, that was Minnesota's "F..K You, Traditional Politics" voter breaking for Wellstone (who was a true maverick, there, McCrud).
And that's who I think this ad speaks to: The Minnesotans who hate yes-men and politicians who don't have their own minds and spines. Along with the emotional whallop behind this ad, I think it's a message that will resonate from Iowa to the Boundary Waters.
One last thought: I think non-Minnesotans can appreciate the "Norm's gotta go" line and how it's delivered, but to really savor it, I think you have to know a few stoic Greater Minnesotans or Iron Rangers. Boiling down all his loss and hurt to that one powerful sentiment? Yo. That's us.