Via Newt's campaign, this spot goes live today in the Hawkeye State:
It's a gauzy, positive piece, filled with stirring images of America's fruited plain. Newt's measured tone -- and the soothing strings -- seem aimed at taking the edge off of a candidate who can be very polarizing. Not a bad first offering, overall. I'd also be surprised to see any negative ads from Newt in Iowa. A month out of the caucuses, he's leading all comers by a statistically significant margin:
With the dizzying fall of Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich has stepped into the breach and now stands alone as the most popular GOP presidential candidate in The Des Moines Register’s new Iowa Poll. Gingrich, with support of 25 percent of likely Republican caucusgoers, is seven points ahead of the rising Ron Paul, who’s at 18 percent. Mitt Romney drops to third, at 16percent, denting his previously armor-plated Iowa polling average. Romney’s support stood at 22 percent last month.