" . . . And I Approved This Message".

Under the category of Stuck For a Topic, we thought we'd monitor one of the local newscasts in the Twin Cities to see how much political advertising they could cram into 35 minutes. We chose WCCO-TV's 10 p.m. newscast for Tuesday, October 28, though to be honest, virtually the same ads could be seen on every other station. They make tons of money for the stations, which is an important thing to consider in these tough economic times. Our discomfort is their gain.

Our unscientific timeline is as follows:

10:09 Senator Norm Coleman talks about his leadership, and his efforts for bipartisanship in the halls of the U.S. Senate. This is one of the "sincere" ads Coleman's been running since renouncing the attack ads. Oh, and he also touts his endorsement by nearly every major newspaper in Minnesota. Even the Star Tribune.

10:10 An ad urging folks to vote yes on the Clean Water Amendment, so more money can be raised for our environment and the arts.

10:22 Challenger Al Franken claims Coleman takes money from lobbyists and supports President George W. Bush most of the time. Then a Democratic group tells us Franken (whose picture makes him look like Ozzie Nelson) is "The Only Choice For Change".

10:24 In an ad for a Democratic organization, they claim GOP Sixth District Rep. Michele Bachmann took money from Wall Street interests.

10:27 In an ad for a Republican organization, they claim Third District Democratic congressional candidate Ashwin Madia would raise your taxes. Then GOP representative John Kline asks voters to sign an online petition urging Congress to cut wasteful spending (we take it Kline isn't too worried about his re-election chances).

10:28 According to Bachmann, Democratic opponent El Tinklenberg hired cronies when he was head of Minnesota's Department of Transportation and increased taxes as mayor of Blaine, all done in the style of a silent movie comedy. (KSTP gave this ad a D grade) Then Republican Erik Paulsen claims his opponent Madia lied about not raising taxes and not voting for Bush.

10:29 See a pattern? Madia will raise your taxes. Then we see one telling us that Franken is unfit for office because he wrote jokes offensive to women and minorities.

10:30 Madia jogs while telling us he joined the military because he "wanted to give something back".

10:31 Franken will raise your taxes!

10:32 John McCain would tax your health care benefits, according to Barack Obama. Interestingly, it sounds as if McCain has given up on Minnesota, judging from the lack of advertising that's been on the local airwaves lately. Obama, on the other hand, has outspent his Republican opponent in the state by a 2-1 margin.

10:33 A Tinklenberg ad takes Bachmann to task for her "anti-American" comments, and for her undying support of Bush. Then, an ad for Democratic congressional incumbent Tim Walz notes that his GOP opponent would vote the party line every time.

And there you have it. In these ads that mostly point fingers at the other guy, we found that:

• Republicans hate taxes and people who write dirty jokes for a living.
• Democrats dislike Bush supporters and anyone who took money from special interests.
• Most ads are shown between the weather and sports segments.

There's one more week of these enlightening ads to go. Then it's time to bring out the holiday ads.