Second MA-05 Ad Goes Live

Fifth District candidate Rep. Barry Finegold (D-Andover) has launched what I believe is the second television ad in the race to replace former Congressman Marty Meehan. Fellow candidate Niki Tsongas was the first to go on TV with an ad that aired a month ago. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been more activity on the air in the race given how much money the candidates have and how close the election is getting. I expect that Eileen Donoghue will join in before too long and perhaps we'll see a second offering from Tsongas.

As far as the ad goes, there's an art to using humor in political ads, and Finegold's effort in that regard falls flat. The dancing Congressman is just weird and off-putting. Perhaps memorable, though, and that may be what Finegold is after. For me, it reminds me too much of one of our local furniture store ads (sans furniture, of course).

That said, I do think that the spot gets to the nut of why Congressional approval ratings are so low. People are frustrated because Congress is unable or unwilling to bring about the changes in policy that they thought they were voting for last November. In reality, however, electing Barry Finegold does not promise to change that, nor would electing any of the other candidates for the fifth district. To be sure, Finegold is not claiming he can change that, and he's at most promising that he'll listen to voters.

Blue Mass. Group has more commentary.