When I first saw the screen-cap of this Rudy Giuliani Christmas-themed ad, I thought he was doing a parody of the Mike Huckabee ad. (Which is, let’s face it, due for a parody. You could have all kinds of floating crosses in the background. “At this time of year, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Got that? Christ. The Christ. Son of God. And I swear to Him, if I see one more person trying to water down that day with a ‘Happy Holidays’ or by calling it X-mas I’m going to waterboard them with egg nog.”)

But it isn’t, and the result is an ad that is funny, but… a little odd. (Mr. Mayor, do you usually throw a red sweater vest on top of your tie and dress shirt? And Santa appears, but doesn’t say anything. Is he the running mate?

Still, Giuliani has good comedy timing and facial expressions, as his appearances on Saturday Night Live attest.