Dole's argument about experience

How is Kay Hagan like a yappy dog?

In her latest TV ad, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole strives for the kind of instantly memorable image that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee achieved with its rocking chairs ad.

In this case, she portrays her Democratic rival at length as a small, excitable dog jumping at the fence over and over, even stupidly hitting its own head against the wall at one point.

The text of the ad is that Hagan is dishonest, but the subtext seems to be that she's too young.

Dogs are not known for dishonesty. (Though Dome's Lab sometimes tries to pretend she didn't sleep on the couch despite the evidence.) And tiny yapping dogs aren't trying to trick you — they're just too excitable and dumb to distinguish between a threat and the mailman.

If Dole were trying to attack Hagan as a smooth politico wooing you with falsehoods, there are a dozen images that she could have used: A cheesy magician, a sleazy car salesman, heck maybe a badger. But that would give Hagan too much credit in Dole's eyes.

By going with an excitable dog, the ad seems to be saying: "Poor little thing, she just doesn't know any better." That's an argument about experience — and maybe a little about age.