With the exception of the very initial cheesy narration, this ad doesn’t feel like a campaign spot. It comes across instead as a public service announcement — and an utterly important one. Yes, as Politico’s Alexander Burns points out, Ron Paul needs to persuade Iowa voters that he is “more than the audit-the-Fed guy,” but Paul comes across as so poignantly sincere when he speaks on the subject of life that it’s hard for me to believe this video is just a ploy for votes. Frankly, I wish more campaign ads were like this one — quiet encapsulations of important convictions.

Paul told the anecdote about the baby in the bucket at the Ames straw poll and it was powerful then. I’m happy a few thousand dollars and airings in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada mean more people across the country will hear it, too.

Update: Thanks to HA commenter “jp” for pointing out Ron Paul’s votes on important abortion-related bills. For an interesting take on Ron Paul’s pro-life record and an explanation for how he squares his pro-life views with the legislation he advocates and opposes as it relates to life, check out this piece by Katrina Trinko in National Review. Still grateful he put out this ad, though. It contains a message that can never be repeated too often and that needs to spread: Human life is precious — and the right to life is the most fundamental of all.