Ads Classfied: Obama Runs His First Commercials

    Barack Obama has begun his advertising foray, with two biographical ads, available here, running in Iowa. They stress what makes him different -- namely, his "togetherness rhetoric" (which first came to national attention at the 2004 Democratic convention) and his decisions out of school both to work as a community organizer and then serve in the state legislature. They're designed, of course, to contrast Obama's biography with that of the current Democratic front-runner in the polls. The ads are OK, if somewhat pedestrian, because they feature too many talking heads. But they're a start.