I think the first 60 seconds and last 20 seconds or so of Pawlenty’s announcement are pitch-perfect.

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One of the aspects of modern (bad) political advertising is how you can “see the strings on the marionettes,” how a candidate who needs to emphasize an aspect will often do it in a manner that is a little too obvious. For example, seeing Cain address the audience from a boardroom clearly is meant to remind us of his success at the highest levels of the business world.

But I really liked the clear but not-too-heavy way this video alluded to Cain’s Christian faith. I didn’t know Cain had been given only a 30 percent chance of survival during his cancer diagnosis; seeing the candidate walking through his church in this context didn’t seem preachy or a heavy-handed sales pitch to religious conservatives; it only seems natural that during a time of personal crisis, facing one’s mortality, one turns to what one trusts most.

The one surprising omission: Considering how Cain thrives in front of crowds, I’m surprised they only showed silent glimpses of him addressing Tea Party rallies.