As I mentioned in my earlier post, Obama made a very poor decision to use the McCain issue in an official campaign ad. Tim Kaine, the Governor of Virginia and a possible VP for Obama I think took the right approach.

When Governor Kaine was asked to comment, he made a joke out of the whole thing. He was quoted as saying, “he couldn’t count high enough apparently to even know how many houses he owns.”

You see how this is a LOT more effective than running a campaign ad? It makes Kaine look witty and intelligent and McCain silly. And the press is able to pick up this witty quote and use it a million times, which they had begun to do.

It’s both a deep and effective dig. It’s effective because it doesn’t allow McCain to hit back. You see, Kaine was just commenting on something he had been asked. That is exactly what Veeps are supposed to do, get down and dirty, while letting the Presidential candidate stay above it all. It’s a deep dig because it makes McCain look both out of touch and absent-minded.

But then Senator Obama used this in an ad, which gives McCain the right to fire back and hit Obama where he is MUCH more vulnerable, his association with a convicted criminal, Tony Rezko.

And sure enough, this headline was just posted on Drudge:

“MCCAIN TO FIRE BACK HARD IN NEW AD, FEATURING REZKO… DEVELOPING…”

Now, if Obama is ignorant enough to protest McCain’s ad, it will just amplify the whole Rezko issue further, making Senator Obama look even worse. Running that ad was stupid! I’m sorry, but I can’t think of a better word.

Obama took a gift FROM McCain and turned it into a gift FOR McCain.

Who is advising Senator Obama? You would think all those high-paid political operatives would know better.

Today the Obama Campaign released a new ad chiding Senator McCain for owning seven homes. Is this a sign of desperation or what?

It is true that when asked by Politico how many homes he owned, McCain did not know off the top of his head. That is because many of those homes belong to his wife, who was wealthy long before McCain married her 28 years ago.

I’m not sure if, in 2004, this line of attack was ever used by conservatives against Senator Kerry regarding his wife, Teresa Heinz-Kerry (another wealthy heiress with many homes), but this whole thing smacks of desperation. How so?

In the first place, Senator Obama’s Chicago home was bought in partnership with Tony Rezko who is, basically, the Jack Abramoff of Illinois. The whole purchase, and a subsequent sale of additional land adjacent to the Obama’s property for a price lower than market value, is still under a cloud. Tony Rezko himself was convicted of multiple crimes of corruption with perhaps more charges to come.

So, by entering into the fray with an official ad of his own, rather than letting the 529’s do his dirty work, Obama has now opened a political quagmire for himself. So far, the McCain Campaign has been quite adept at sowing doubts about Obama’s ability to lead the country. The Obama Campaign ad gives them a reason to now sow doubts about his character as well.

Will the Obama ad score with anyone other than Obama supporters? That remains to be seen. But if this is the best the Obama Campaign can do, they’re in big trouble come November.