Barack Obama’s ads tend to fall into two categories: puffy, slick pieces like those aired during the Olympics and boilerplate negative ads (e.g. McCain hugging Bush; an ominous voice intoning about vile negativity on the other side). Even during the primary it was Hillary Clinton who grabbed the attention with the “3 a.m.” ad. So why aren’t Obama’s ads better?

One explanation is that they carry the burden of a self-important and pompous campaign. All the messianic iconography didn’t get there by accident. And the ads carry that same message: We are very, very important and those who doubt are scurrilous. With the exception of the now utterly discredited “he can’t use a computer” ad, there is nothing amusing or ingratiating about the ads. No whimsy and no laughs.

The other explanation is that the ad guys and gals always get blamed for someone else’s problem: a poor message. It is hard to pin down exactly what Obama’s message really is now. Is the “Change Agent” really what they are selling — via Joe Biden? Or are they selling a purely negative message of “Not Bush”? Indeed, the last batch of Obama ads are all attack pieces, done with a heavy hand and with a very old fashioned sensibility. They scream “Negative Hit Job!”

Perhaps the explanation is much more mundane. It may be that the ad team for Obama just isn’t technically good and clever as the opposition. But for a guy with a supposedly cutting-edge appeal, Obama’s ads simply aren’t very good. It’s one of the many ironies in a race filled with them.