This add has the taint of inside the beltway lets give heeps more money to Bob Shrum written all over it!  I predict that both Debbie and Granholm will manage to eeeek out narrow wins come election day. QA shame because these two could have built some top of the ticket momentum up that could help the likes of Nancy Skinner overtake their opponents down ticket!

    Stabenow's progressive record on most issues is a good reason to support her. However, this ad does nothing for her or the state Democratic party. She should fire her campaign managers and start over while she still has a sizeable lead.

Your comment was tremendous. Isn't this just a sad excuse for a spot this year, at this time?
   It's not just the inauthentic, mealy-mouth script -- it's the waste: waste of time, of money, of opportunity to really say something important and meaningful to a community that is suffering because of events that are not its fault. (Think CAFTA + NAFTA = SHAFTA) Michigan, along with the rest of the US, is going in the tank because of the sellout in WDC.

If this is her idea of what needs to be said, perhaps Stabenow needs to be put down along with the rest of these spineless, spinless careerists. I'm a Dem but loyalty has its limits. Apparently it does for Stabenow as well.

Roadette

She's an incumbent in a light blue state.  See what you can do in 50 words or less:

"The Bush-Cheney Republicans are blocking common-sense jobs and health care reforms that could help Michigan and our families.  Send me back to Washington with a Democratic Congress, and we'll keep fighting for you and our great state.  I'm Debbie Stabenow, and if you don't like it, blow me I approve this message."

This mealy mouthed feel good crap is why Dems lose. The rethug running against granholm is responsible for sending 1500 jobs from Michigan to China.  I know it's a different race but Stabenow and Granholm should be tying both these guys with piano wire to the policies that have wrecked Ford and GM and left Chrysler a subsidary of Benz.

points like "cut taxes = new jobs". That is a lie and we will never move America in a progressive direction if we don't tackle conservative myths head on.

Awful awful awful.

She did reach across the aisle and passed the frickin bankruptcy bill.  She is a limp noodle and blows with the wind.  I am not at all surprised by her stupid ad.  Step by step, slowly we turn - until all the losermans are replaced in primaries.  Stabenow is better than Santorum or Casey = but not by much.

Full Disclosure: I'm not from MI.  And boy, do I feel sorry for you that are.

I am sick and tired of pols saying they are going to fight for me.  I don't want them to fight for me.  I want them to represent me and mine, not fight with others supposedly on my behalf.

I have been saying this for a while. The Repubs create a singular theme and then frame the debate. They then go massively negative on their opponent creating doubts. They have a very good GOTV with targeted messaging to fire up their base. This cycle it will be 9/11 and terrorism all the way and massive negative attacks on the Dem candidates.

The Dems in general never learn lessons. They seem to want to get close but never win. Instead of running a concerted and highly partisan campaign for change they are doing a repeat of 2002 and 2004. Now this election cycle there are many very good Dem candidates who get it and are running spirited campaigns but those candidates lack resources and the backing of the DC Dem establishment - DSCC, DCCC.

Despite all the polls, this election will get much tighter and with the Repub machine unleashed over the next 2 months, it is very likely they may contain the tide and hold on. The Dems better wake up and not coast or they will be wondering again why they lost.

In Michigan, especially among progressives, Debbie Stabenow was long ago exposed as a spineless weasel with an IQ roughly equivalent to that of asphalt.

She's responsible for the Lieberman-style nonsense that's in that ad (or at least the theme and tone) and no one else.

Christ, I wish she'd move to Rhode Island or something.

I don't know.  Most of the people I talk to are horrified at how ugly the governor's race is on the verge of becoming.

Staking out the high ground while she's got the lead might be a good strategy to make Mike Bouchard to risk slinging mud at someone whose ads have struck a positive chord.

This is an incumbent in a light blue state in a blue year. The one thing she doesn't need is to be is negative and controversial and blow the race. Sounds like you guys are the type who want to run triple reverses with a WR throwing the ball while up 6 points with a minute remaining,

Stabenow has a positive approval rating of 47-36 in the recent Strategic Vision poll from August 25-27.: http://www.strategicvision.biz/political /michigan_poll_082906.htm There is no need for her to launch a looney assault.

And finally someone stresses the economy! The second word out of her mouth.

Sorry, as I've said it all along, we need more positive emphasis to boost favorability ratings and increased emphasis on the economy. Debbie Stabenow and her ad campaign get that. I was hardly surprised when someone said it was Tester's firm.

The incompetent handicapping on liberal blogs never fails to crack me up. We want nothing but Iraq and attack and we're dead wrong. Does anyone honestly believe people are going to vote based on what they see on their TV screen as opposed to their daily lives? Big hint: don't move to Las Vegas where your opinion can actually be evaluated in terms of net dollars.

I realize the Michigan economy has been poor but this is a senate race. A senator is not going to be directly associated with a poor state economy. If Granholm had run this ad some of the critcism would have been valid, but for a senatorial incumbent ad I'm extremely pleased by it.

...To be more smarmy than the noxious Susan Collins.  Good job Debbie.

So who is the consulting firm doing Stabenow's ads?