These are the lazy days of summer when people are not paying too much attention to politics and politicians, but it’s a good time for politicians to put a lot of miles on their vehicles hitting every little event they can.

It’s not a great time to air campaign ads in Montana because Montanans are outside. We seem to cherish summers more than others, especially since it was not too long ago that we had a few minus 20 and minus 30 temperatures. Brrr.

Although I don’t think it’s a great time to air new campaign ads, U.S. Senator John Walsh recently released a new ad called “Disappointed” that I will analyze today.

The ad features three senior ladies who are “disappointed” that Walsh’s opponent, Congressman Steve Daines, “voted to cut Medicare benefits” “While cutting taxes for multi-millionaires like himself.”

You can watch the ad HERE.

This vote was about the so-called “Ryan Budget” that was dead on arrival after passing the House. After the vote, Daines told Lee Newspapers, “I don’t agree with everything in this budget,” although in the article he did not disclose which parts of the bill he did not agree with.

My Analysis:

You can put a checkmark in the Walsh column for the veterans’ vote. When Steve Daines and his campaign team attacked John Walsh for his military service after previously praising him and recommending him to the President, I called it swiftboating. Many veterans are now angry at Daines, who never served in the military, for swiftboating Walsh. Daines lost votes for that vicious unpatriotic attack.

Now Walsh is going after the senior citizen voters with this ad. Senior citizens and veterans are two major groups that show up to vote, so it’s good to air an ad that centers on them – and the ad is factual.

Although it’s summer and the attention is not on campaigns or politicians, with polls showing Walsh trailing Daines, Walsh has no choice but to keep soldiering on.

I give the new Walsh ad “Disappointed” a seven out of ten. It is a good effective ad, but not a great ad.

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