Behind the Ad: Virginia Democratic Senate candidate Tim Kaine is out with his first ad

By Richard K. Barry

(Another installment in our extensive "Behind the Ad" series.)

Who: Democrat Tim Kaine's Senate campaign.

Where: Virginia.

What's going on: I'm so tired of reading and writing about Rep. Todd Akin that I have to think about something else. What about the very close Senate race in Virginia, with Democrat Tim Kaine going up against Republican George Allen? Kaine is out with his first ad and it's a pretty gentle and positive spot, though others have been hard at work on the nasty stuff. As The Washington Post writes:

One day alone last week, conservative groups launched three ads blasting Kaine. The next day, two liberal groups hit the airwaves with new ads attacking Allen.

The Post describes the Kaine ad like this:

With soft music playing in the background, Kaine touts his record as Virginia governor, describing an era of bipartisanship and fiscal responsibility, friendliness to business and commitment to education. He never mentions Allen.

It's going to be interesting. Some campaigns are going to be happy letting outside money do a lot of the dirty work. I just wonder if voters will make those kinds of distinctions. Does anyone really believe candidates bear no responsibility for the content and tone of non-campaign (e.g., Super PAC) ads, or that there is absolutely no coordination, or that they couldn't shut them down if they wanted to? I doubt it.

Here's Mr. Kaine, all warm and fuzzy:

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)