Politicians always say they don’t pay attention to polls, but wouldn’t you know it, now that the economy shows up as the number one issue concerning voters, all the presidential candidates have come out with ads stressing their concern about the economy. As usual, it’s a collection of hits, near misses, and comical whiffs.

Let’s start with the Republicans, beginning with he of square jaw and fat bank account, Mitt Romney:

This week’s ad analysis comes at a time when both the Republican and Democratic races are tighter than anyone thought they would be. By now it was supposed to be all but decided, the fields whittled down and one candidate poised to put his or her opponents away for good. But much to the pleasure of political junkies everywhere, both races are truly up in the air. So let’s see what delicious new morsels the candidates are sending our way. We’ll start with Barack Obama: