In terms of message imbalance between the two presidential campaigns, it is clear that a critical mass has been reached. Obama is on pace to spend more on TV in the final 25 days of this election than John McCain’s entire $85 million matching-fund check. For those keeping score at home, Obama has aired more than 25,000 commercials in the past four days alone.

McCain is in a shouting match against a man with a bull horn. Whatever McCain does in the final 25 days, it will not be enough to break through the noise unless his campaign finds a message that connects with voters. Timing is everything in politics, and McCain’s campaign may have waited too long to play the Ayers, Rezko and Wright cards. These types of attacks do not work while voters are sweating the ups and downs of the economy and stock market.

UPDATE: One of Ambinder’s commenters hits the nail on the head for why this ad stinks.

Did the focus groups really like this one? It makes no sense to me. Economic crises don’t come all of a sudden, they develop over days and even years. “Mrs. President, I’m sorry to wake you up, but a cell of bankers has activated and is foreclosing on millions of homes!”