Team Romney continues to hammer Barack Obama on the economy with their new video spot, “A Few of the 23 Million.”  The spot focuses on Iowa, where three people represent the 23 million Americans who are out of work, underemployed, or who have simply given up all hope for economic change.  It’s a bleak picture, indeed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kEGtgnZGVzA

For those who wonder whether yesterday’s Bain response was pulled together quickly or waiting on the shelf for rapid deployment, this ad gives a pretty good hint.  When was the last time Iowa had this much snow on the ground?  The Romney campaign must have shot this in December or January specifically to hit Obama on jobs and the economy; this ad would have made no sense in the context of the primary campaign.  The outdoor scenes aren’t stock shots, either, as it shows two of the people actually out in the snow, and all three dressed for cold weather.

The ad is a little long, but the theme and the presentation are top-notch.  Later we’ll see ads with the specifics on jobs numbers, but in this case we get to feel a little of the frustration and despair that 23 million Americans feel every day.  It’s a sharp contrast to the Hope and Change promised by Obama in the 2008 election.  Team Romney needs to stay on jobs and the economy for the next five months, as Obama simply can’t rebut the numbers.