Mark Neumann is running in the Republican primary for governor of Wisconsin, and if you doubted that he's an American citizen, this ad will clear up any confusion. It's set in a room decked out with red-white-and-blue flags and bunting, and the smiling attendees also carry flags for good measure. We get the message: Mark Neumann understands that Wisconsin is in the United States. That's a good start for any potential governor, I'd say.
Neumann describes his humble beginnings: "My first job was on a farm, where I learned conservative values." Stirring patriotic music rumbles on the soundtrack, not unlike the stirring patriotic music that used to rumble behind Oliver Wendell Douglas when he made one of those gassy speeches on Green Acres. Of course, the music was a joke on Green Acres, but it isn't here. The crowd gazes at Neumann adoringly, as if his boilerplate Republican ideas -- "cut spending," "reduce taxes" -- were pearls of wisdom dropping from Abraham Lincoln's mouth.
Even a baby and a couple of toddlers gaze at him adoringly. Unlike rivals Scott Walker and Tom Barrett, Neumann seems to have enthusiastic support among the state's pre-verbal demographic.
Isthmus TV critic Dean Robbins will assess candidate commercials throughout the 2010 fall elections. Read more reviews of political campaign spots.
