John McCain has a new ad out today, one that gives a more literal meaning to comparative advertising. “Compare” focuses on economics to paint Barack Obama as “risky”, mentioning but not hammering Obama on his redistributionist comments:

Your choice…

For higher taxes … for workin’ Joe’s.

Spread your income … keep what’s yours.

A trillion in new spending … freeze spending, eliminate waste.

Pain for small business … economic growth.

Risky … proven.

For a stronger America, McCain.

With a week to go, one would hope that the McCain campaign has a new ad in the works that relies on Obama’s 2001 interview with WBEZ. That has devastating quotes in it about seeking redistributive change, how the Warren Court wasn’t radical enough, and more. This would have made a good baseline ad coming out of the conventions, but it’s a soft sell.

What McCain needs now is a hard sell, and a hard close. He has to make the case as starkly and as clearly as possible. This isn’t bad, but it’s not quite what they need. Maybe Alec Baldwin should explain it to them — always be closing (NSFW):

Anyone want to see second prize? Not me, either.