Ads Classified: Richardson Back On the Air in Iowa With Humor

    On the theory we espoused yesterday that it's the candidates at the top of the second tier who really need to show movement at this point, Bill Richardson is back on the air -- this time in Iowa. The two ads, available here, are good and they're funny. They feature Richardson in a job interview, where a bored interviewer recites all his accomplishments and in one decides he may be overqualified for the presidency.
    The ads create a nice aura around the Richardson candidacy. But there are two problems. Voters don't tend to select candidates on the basis of what they've been but on where they promise to lead the country. And, the humor displayed in these ads was decidedly absent when we saw Richardson at the South Carolina debate. Campaign commercials have to be consistent with the candidate's persona; if not, the public senses a disconnect.
    In the next debate, maybe we'll see a new Richardson.