If you were watching NBC last night, you were bombarded with this truly bizarre ad from Tom Barrett's campaign.
Holy crap.
I couldn't believe it.
Who thought that would be a good idea?
Why show Barrett like this? It's so graphic and just creepy exploitation. 
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
When Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett decided to run for governor, political observers wondered whether he would use last summer's beating outside State Fair Park as part of his campaign.
The Democrat ended that speculation Thursday when his campaign released a 1-minute spot that features his wife describing what happened and saying her husband will stand up for Wisconsin.
"In some ways, this was the ad we knew was coming," said Ken Goldstein, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist who follows campaign advertising. "The question was when would it be done and would it be done well.
"I think it was done very well."
I think it's absolutely dreadful.
Barrett behaved heroically when he intervened in a domestic dispute last summer. No question about it. He was seriously injured and his attacker was convicted and sentenced.
OK. What is this supposed to prove? What's the point? Is Barrett looking to win some sympathy votes? Is he trying to sell himself as a hero?
In the ad, Barrett's wife, Kris, says, "I know and our kids know that their dad will always stand up for them. And he will always stand up for Wisconsin."
Yeah, well, not really.
Stepping into a dangerous situation and getting beaten as a result is a selfless thing to do, but that doesn't say much about Barrett's ability to govern the state. It doesn't speak at all to his policy positions and what they mean for the people of Wisconsin.
Certainly, the incident is revealing in terms of Barrett's character. That, however, isn't enough. It's incomplete. One commendable aspect of Barrett's character is highlighted. Other aspects of Barrett's character aren't so great, such as his utter failure to protect the most weak and vulnerable -- the unborn.
Read Barrett's horrible voting record on Right to Life issues.
As bad as the injured Barrett looks, he's alive. Given that Barrett is proudly pro-abortion, should there be an ad showing a lifeless, dismembered fetus to illustrate Barrett's character attributes? Would that be appropriate?
Compare Barrett's ad to the way John McCain used his experience as a prisoner of war in his campaign ads. We weren't treated to such graphic images of McCain. He discussed his years as a P.O.W. in a self-effacing fashion. McCain was humble.
Barrett's ad is really in poor taste. He's exploiting his injuries.
The ad is pure cult of personality stuff. As Americans learned with the election of Obama, the consequences of being taken in by personality can be disastrous.
Barrett's battered face doesn't equal more jobs in Wisconsin and a better economy. It doesn't mean lower taxes.
What I can't get over is that Barrett's campaign and local Democrats and national figures like Keith Olbermann were horrified that Scott Walker wore boxing gloves in an ad, that it showed terrible insensitivity to Barrett.
Good grief, look what Barrett has done with the matter!
That gross photo of him lingering on the screen is so gratuitous.
I think it says a lot about Barrett's character that he was willing to exploit his undeniably good deed for personal political gain via such an in-your-face way.
It diminishes Barrett.
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