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Keller @ Large: Holiday-Themed Political Ads

BOSTON (CBS) - Polls show Mitt Romney is in a close race in Iowa, and he just released a new ad touting his budget cutting credentials. Meanwhile, Romney's competitors stuck mostly with holiday-themed ads.

After reviewing this year's crop, this much can be said about the holiday-season political ad: Sometimes the best ones are the ones you don't see at all.

Anything is more inspiring than watching politicians try to re-package their campaigns in the spirit of the season.

WBZ-TV's Jon Keller Is At Large

When it comes to mixing the seasonal with the subliminal, nothing beats the Mike Huckabee classic from four years ago. Is that a window frame behind him, or a cross?

In the ad Huckabee said, "At this time of year its nice to pull aside from all of that and just realize what's most important is the celebration of the birth of Christ."

There was nothing that creative in this year's crop, which mostly leaned on family images, like Ron Paul's spot. In the ad, family members were singing "Deck The Halls".

For a the Romney campaign, Mitt's wife Ann narrates "It's A Wonderful Life," Belmont Hill style.

And Rick Santorum decided: The less said the better, referencing VH-1's "Pop Up Video".

But there's one thing we can all be thankful for: This year, we don't have to listen to holiday homilies from John Edwards.

The elbow-throwing resumes in earnest Tuesday, with recent polls showing Romney, Paul and Gingrich in a close race for first.

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