An hour of ads.

Walter Shapiro watches TV in Des Moines so we don't have to...

Over the last hour (roughly from 8:20-9:30 a.m. local time), I have seen two upbeat Barack Obama ads; two versions of the Mike Huckabee Christmas spot (in which your eye keeps getting drawn to the window frame in the background that is filmed to look exactly like a large cross); two Joe Biden commercials promoting his plan for a tripartite division of Iraq; two John Edwards promos about rising above "petty politics" (there is a window in this one as well, but no subliminal Christ imagery); an independent-expenditure ad on behalf of Edwards (a back-door way to avoid campaign-spending limits); a forgettable 30 seconds of Chris Dodd talking to the camera; a Ron Paul bio spot; another Edwards commercial (the best one of his) about a middle-aged man in the South who endured life with a cleft palate because he lacked health insurance; and a Hillary Clinton promo revealing that she has the full and enthusiastic support of her mother, Dorothy Rodham.

The first thing that pops out to me is the independent expenditure for Edwards (by whom, I wonder). I'm a bit surprised to see that it's the only one of the hour. Edwards outgunning Obama and Clinton even without the independent spot is pretty impressive, too, considering the budgetary differences between the campaigns (Heck, even Biden's got a pair). Of course, while 'how much' is an important factor in the way paid media is used, how and when can be great equalizers, and Edwards seems to be getting some good bang for his buck in the closing weeks.

And the "petty politics" spots? Haven't seen 'em, but it sounds like 'Nice John' may be back for the close.