I've seen the Howard Dean TV ad that's running in Austin (you can see it here), and I must say I like it. He comes across as calm and reasonable, but still makes his point that President Bush's policies have been bad for the country. Thumbs up from this corner.

As for the wisdom of running this ad, let's first be clear about something. George W. Bush is going to carry the state of Texas in 2004. Texas didn't provide his biggest margin of victory in 2000 percentage-wise (that was Wyoming, which he won 69-28), but 59-38 is pretty impressive. The Democratic ticket got roughly the same number of votes in 2000 that it did in 1996, when Bob Dole nipped Bill Clinton by 49-44%, while Bush improved the Republican total by nearly a million ballots. That's a mountain that isn't going to be climbed in 2004.

So if Texas is essentially unwinnable for a Democratic candidate, why bother spending the money? There are three very good reasons to do so.

1. There's still the small matter of the Democratic nomination for President. Texas may not have any electoral votes for Howard Dean, but it does have delegates, and he will need all of them he can get.

2. By bearding the lion at his ranch like this, Dean generated all kinds of free publicity for his campaign. People all around the country will read about it. How many political ads - in particular, how many political ads that don't have some pissed-off advocacy group demanding an apology and a retraction - become known to an audience that will never see them? As an added bonus, now Dean gets to add the "unafraid to take on the President on his own turf" meme to his story line. That will serve him well some day.

3. From the perspective of the state Democratic Party, the best thing that could happen to them in 2004 is for the Presidential candidate to spend money contesting Texas. If people feel they have a chance to vote for a winner, they'll overlook the fact that their vote won't actually make any Electoral College difference. Getting these voters out to the polls in 2004 could make the difference between losing more Congressional and State House seats to the Republicans and holding steady or even picking up a seat here and there.

I doubt that the latter point weighed on their minds at Dean Nation, but I do hope that the national Party and whoever the nominee will be has realized that just beating Bush isn't enough. If you want to undo some of the things he's done, you've got to win back at least one chamber of Congress as well. Not losing ground in a state like Texas would help.

So I approve of this ad. I hope to see more like it next year.

(Sidebar: Be sure to read this WaPo article and this US News article on the good doctor. Via Not Geniuses.)