Mona Charen has a good column on Joe Kennedy’s gross ads promising to give free Venezuelan oil to the needy. But she doesn’t answer the question I’ve wanted to know the answer to for a while now. Mona writes:

You’ve probably seen the TV commercials — former congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II beckons you to enjoy reduced-price heating oil if you are struggling to keep your house warm, thanks to “our good friends in Venezuela.” He then offers a few heartwarming examples of poor people who have taken advantage of the program and offers the toll free number: 1-877-JOE-4-OIL (1-877-563-4645).

And it’s true, you probably have seen the ads. I have too – On Fox News Sunday. But if Kennedy is trying to reach the poor, needy and other members of the lumpen proletariat, I wonder: Why is he advertising on a Sunday political show? Why not during the Price is Right or Judge Judy or countless soaps? The poor folks in the commercial look like they’re having a rough time and they seem perfectly cast to conjure memories of Bobby Kennedy’s Appalachia tour. But do they, or people like them, really catch Chris Wallace’s show every Sunday?

Maybe Kennedy is advertising on shows and networks more likely to get the message out to people who need socialist giveaway heating oil. And maybe he’s buying ads on Sundays to reach out to televangelist viewers who come on before or after FNS in most markets. But I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s taking out these ads to score political points, and not to actually get flooded with phone calls from needy people.

Maybe one of NRO’s intrepid reporters can get to the bottom of this?