The political world is abuzz about a Herman Cain video ad that features Cain’s campaign manager, standing against a wall, staring into the camera, and talking about the candidate for about 45 seconds. When he stops talking, he takes a drag on a cigarette. The ad already has more than 1 million views on YouTube and many, many more as it has ricocheted around mainstream TV “news” programming. John Avlon on the Daily Beast suggests this ad might be the break-out moment for viral videos in national campaigns.

But I ask you to watch the ad for another reason: Is there anything about it that could not be duplicated by a candidate running for local office? The biggest challenge I see is finding someone willing to smoke on camera. Why local campaigns aren’t pumping out stuff like this remains a mystery to me.

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