Check out the latest Democratic ad, which nails Bush for denying he ever said “stay the course” about Iraq. The ad compiles no fewer than 15 times Bush, Cheney, and Snow said that we must “stay the course” in Iraq–11 of those times Bush himself said it. Were it not for the ominous music, it would play like a Daily Show segment, because right after seeing Bush repeat “stay the course” so many times, the ad shows Bush saying, “look, we’ve never been ‘stay the course.'” Outstanding.

One critique–the ad should have changed the music and looming titles at the end when it says to vote Democratic. But that’s a small nit. Otherwise, the ad is perfect; it not only points out the failed strategy in Iraq, a resonating theme among voters this Fall, but it also shows Bush up as the liar he is. Not so much a criticism of congressional candidates, but as a criticism of the party–which has followed Bush’s lead almost slavishly–it should work quite well.

Update: apparently, the ad only had limited time to show Bush saying “stay the course” 11 times. Keith Olbermann (via C&L) showed Bush saying it 29 times, after Tony Snow claimed he could only find eight such instances–all this after Bush claimed he never said it. A Google search of the White House press release directory found 160 hits for the term.