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Best Leading Actor

• Barack Obama For President: "American Stories, American Solutions"

Obama's overwhelming fundraising advantage allowed him to purchase 30 minutes of air time on seven networks the week of the election. But his ability to deliver a message that resonated with Americans made it worth the estimated $4 million price tag.

Best Advertisement

• John McCain For President: "Celeb"

Even though pundits dismissed this ad and scoffed at McCain for lumping Obama in with the likes of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, "Celeb" spurred McCain's summer bump in the polls and became one of the race's most talked-about ads.

Best Advertisement -- Drama

• Tom Udall For Senate: "Humbled"

This spot, featuring an Iraq war veteran who lost his ability to speak but not his profound gratitude, might just move you to tears.

Best Advertisement -- Musical

• Barack Obama For President: "Don't Know Much"

Using a new take on a classic song to mock McCain's record on the economy and his ties with President Bush, this clever spot embodies Obama's ability to hit his opponents without being perceived as an attack dog.

Runner-up:

• Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association: "One Heartbeat Away"

A song underscores McCain's health risks as the ad reminds viewers that Sarah Palin would be "one heartbeat away" from the presidency.

Best Advertisement -- Comedy

• Freedom's Watch: "Welcome to the Unofficial Dept. of Peace"

Marshaling a VW van, tie-dye and drug insinuations against Mark Udall's Senate campaign in Colorado, this ad had to crack up even the most serious pols.

Best Advertisement -- Horror

• Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund: "Brutal"

Viewers were so captivated by this environmental group's ad depicting an aerial wolf hunt that they donated thousands of dollars to keep it on the air.

Runner-up:

• John Kennedy For Senate: "Scary Mary"

Kennedy mocks his opponent, Mary Landrieu, for trying to scare voters, but we found the acting in this spot particularly terrifying.

Best Supporting Actor

• President Bush

The unpopular chief Republican made it into countless attack ads across the country. "Bush-McCain Challenge" by MoveOn.org Political Action was particularly entertaining: It used the theme song from "The Patty Duke Show" to pair up Bush and McCain in both their mannerisms and their words.

"I've served my country since I was 17 years old, and spent five years longing for her shores," McCain says in the ad. "I came home dedicated to a cause greater than my own." In another shift from nearly all his recent ads, McCain stays positive, though he does sneak in an implicit jab at Barack Obama's "hope" slogan: "Don't hope for a stronger America. Vote for one."

Barack Obama's campaign was quick with its reply, releasing a new TV spot just hours after Cheney's remarks from his home state of Wyoming.

"Delighted" (subscription) juxtaposes some of Obama's most respected backers -- billionaire businessman Warren Buffett and former Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell -- with McCain's latest supporter. Showing footage of Cheney endorsing McCain and running mate Sarah Palin, an announcer quips: "Boy, did McCain earn it. He voted with Bush and Cheney 90 percent of the time." "And that's not the change we need," he concludes.

The ad comes as both candidates ramp up their efforts in the final 24-hour push before Election Day. Obama today will hit three states that went for Bush in 2004 -- Florida, North Carolina and Virginia -- while McCain makes stops in seven different battlegrounds.

Their new TV spot, "Better Off" (subscription), uses footage of a famous moment in Reagan's 1980 presidential debate with Jimmy Carter to try to win over undecided voters. "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" Reagan asked in 1980. Plummeting stock prices and video footage of Osama bin Laden and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina play on screen as Reagan speaks about economic security and America's standing in the world. "If you don’t think that this course that we’ve been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have," Reagan says as a photo of Obama fills the screen.

“With our economy in crisis and our soldiers still at war, Ronald Reagan’s question is as relevant today as it was in 1980,” said Progressive Future political director Brad Martin in a press release. The group cites data from Gallup that shows over 90 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. In addition to running the TV ad in Ohio and Florida, Progressive Future will spend the last 96 hours of the election on volunteer mobilization and get-out-the-vote efforts.

"Meghan" (subscription), started running in this pivotal battleground state Thursday. The spot features Meghan Cofield, a Dayton factor worker who saw her job move to China. The group chides McCain for supporting the North American Free Trade Act, which the SEIU asserts allows companies to receive tax benefits for exporting jobs overseas.

While both candidates have led in Ohio over the last several months, the latest polling data compiled from Pollster.com shows Barack Obama's numbers going up while McCain's trending downward.

"Crist" (subscription), released Thursday, features Florida Gov. Charlie Crist touting his support for McCain. The ad stays positive, showering the Arizona senator with praise for being a reformer dedicated to bipartisanship. "Our next president will face enormous challenges. For me, the choice is clear," Crist says. "John McCain is an American hero."

Crist's endorsement couldn't come at a more crucial time. His state, which has leaned Obama since mid-September, has been the recipient of the most ad dollars by both campaigns and the Republican National Committee. According to a new report [PDF] by the Wisconsin Advertising Project, McCain and the RNC spent almost $1.5 million in the Sunshine State for the week of Oct. 21-28, while Obama doled out a whopping $4.6 million there.

A McCain/RNC radio ad released today in Virginia, "Cuts" (subscription), features Sen. John Warner, R-Va., asserting that McCain will protect Virginia's defense industry from "Obama's liberal colleagues in Congress," who he says plan to "cut defense spending by 25 percent." Virginia, another battleground state that started trending blue in mid-September, is also among the states drawing the most ad dollars, according to the Wisconsin Advertising Project.

In addition to Crist and Warner, even McCain's opponent is unwittingly enlisted for the cause in another new ad. "Obama Praises McCain" (subscription) airs footage of the Illinois senator in January 2007 hailing McCain's "outstanding leadership" on greenhouse gas legislation.

Other recent spots released by the McCain camp and the RNC have followed this pattern. Crist previously starred in another McCain/RNC spot, "Spreading The Wealth" (subscription), as did country music star Hank Williams Jr. (subscription).

"Rearview Mirror" (subscription) brings home Obama's argument on the economy and on McCain's relationship with President Bush. The spot shows a man driving a truck down the road, as an announcer asks: "Wonder where John McCain would take the economy? Look behind you." An image of Bush pops up in the rearview mirror. Signs along the road detail how McCain's policies are a direct continuation of Bush's, according to the Obama camp. Finally, the driver looks back in the mirror to see images of Bush and McCain together, as the announcer repeats the now-familiar tagline: "We can't afford more of the same."

In "Something" (subscription), on the other hand, Obama seeks to inspire viewers to become part of the movement that he has created during the course of his campaign. "Something's happening in America -- in small towns and big cities," the announcer observes as the camera pans across large, diverse crowds of Obama supporters. "People from every walk of life uniting in common purpose." The ad touts some of Obama's biggest endorsements, from Warren Buffett and Colin Powell, before showing a clip of one of his characteristically rousing speeches. "We can choose hope over fear, and unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo," he says to huge applause.

The Illinois senator is releasing his new ads in three states that voted overwhelmingly for Bush in 2004 and should have been safe territory for McCain -- Georgia, North Dakota and McCain's home state of Arizona. New data released by the Wisconsin Ad Project [PDF] shows that, during the week of October 21-28, three-quarters of Obama's and McCain's advertising dollars were spent in red states, demonstrating that McCain is, in fact, playing defense.

MoveOn.org is also purchasing time in Arizona to re-air "Obamacan" (subscription), the spot that won the group's "Obama in 30 Seconds" ad contest back in May. It features Air Force veteran John Weiler, who says that although he's "been a Republican since before I could actually vote," he's supporting Obama this year.

Pollster.com shows McCain up by an average of six points in Arizona, but Democrats clearly feel the race is close enough to warrant spending some resources there.

"How much more political garbage will you take from the Republicans and Democrats?" the ad’s narrator asks. "On November 4, you have a choice: the bailout boys McCain and Obama, or Ralph Nader, the man who for more than 40 years has stood with you against Wall Street crime and Washington corruption."

The 30- and 60-second spots are running in 22 markets in 12 states -- including battlegrounds like Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. But Jason Kafoury, Nader’s national campaign coordinator, insisted that Nader is not trying to run as a spoiler.

The decision on where to run the ads was based on where the campaign has the strongest numbers. Kafoury pointed to a CNN/Time poll [PDF] released today that shows Nader with 3-4 percent support in Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

And Nader is siphoning most of those votes from John McCain, not Barack Obama, Kafoury added.

"Independents that would vote for McCain are breaking towards third-party candidates," Kafoury said.

Nader, 74, has run in four consecutive presidential elections. In 1996 and 2000, he was the Green Party's nominee; in 2004 and this year, he has run as an independent.

Idaho Senate (tip sheet)

• Former Republican Gov. Jim Risch touts his executive record and his plans for turning the economy around in "Jim Risch Just Gets Things Done."

Kentucky Senate (tip sheet)

• In a new ad from Bruce Lunsford (D), a Kentucky man chases down Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) with "Hound Dogs" as the incumbent tries "running away from his record."

• And in "Hillary," Lunsford receives the endorsement of the New York senator.

Maine Senate (tip sheet)

• Republican Susan Collins, seeking to defend her seat, cites statistics to show she's been more effective in Washington than her opponent, Rep. Tom Allen (D), in "Scorecard."

• Allen goes after Collins for standing with Bush on major issues in "Right," while Maine voters discuss why they are switching their vote from Collins this year in "Voting Record."

"Surgeon" (subscription), the final installment of what RNC spokesman Brad Todd says is the party's "closing argument," begins with an announcer asking, in a grave tone: "Would you get on a plane with a pilot who has never flown? Would you trust your child with someone who has never cared for children? Would you go under with a surgeon who has never operated?" The ad then draws a parallel between these scenarios and the prospect of an Obama presidency, citing a quote from the Irish Sunday Independent: "Can you hand your nation to a man who has 'never been in charge of anything?' Can you wait while he learns?"

The original quote, published in mid-September, was actually targeted at Joe Biden: "Obama chose a charisma-free windbag who is the archetypal Washington insider and -- like Hillary [Rodham Clinton] and Obama himself -- has never been in charge of anything."

"Surgeon" is running in Ohio, Indiana, Florida and Virginia, which are among the same handful of battlegrounds where John McCain is focusing his ad dollars as well.

The RNC also released a Spanish version of "Storm" today in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., markets. This pivotal state, which was lining up solidly in the McCain column until mid-September, is now leaning toward Obama by at least a handful of percentage points in various national polls, according to Pollster.com.

The RNC is wrapping up its on-air efforts in Colorado, Pennsylvania and the once-solid red states of West Virginia, Montana and North Carolina as well. According to a press release, the party is in the process of spending more than $25 million in the last two weeks leading up to Nov. 4.

Barack Obama's 30-minute infomercial -- estimated to cost $3.5-4 million -- is getting mostly rave reviews from the commentariat. But what do the voters think?

According to Nielson's ratings, they at least tuned in. Overall, 21.7 percent of households watching TV at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night were tuned to one of the six networks that aired the extended ad. Ross Perot, the last presidential candidate to run this type of longer pitch, garnered 16.8 percent of viewers with a spot on Election Day in 1992. The first presidential debate between Obama and John McCain received a 34.7 percent rating and the final debate 38.3 percent.

As for McCain's complaints that Obama was delaying the start of the World Series game, Phillies and Rays fans didn't seem to hold it against him -- the Philadelphia and West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Fla., markets ranked second and third highest in the ratings, coming in just behind Baltimore.

UPDATE: Nielsen has reported that that 21.7 percent of households translates to 33.5 million viewers for Obama's ad. On an average Wednesday night, the networks on which the spot aired attract a combined 30.3 million viewers.

Our Country Deserves Better PAC is also seizing on the experience mantra in a humorous new ad (subscription) released on national cable and on broadcast TV in several targeted states, including Michigan, on Wednesday. Actors playing world leaders hostile to America, including Kim Jong Il of North Korea, Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, are shown sitting around a conference table under a banner that reads: "The League Of Rogue Nations." The phone rings and is answered by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "Obama wants to meet," he tells his colleagues. "No preconditions!" Castro cheers.

Given the option of choosing the time and place, Ahmadinejad goes on to dismiss the person on the other end of the line. "Tuesday is no good. Thursday we enrich uranium. I mean, we have our bowling league," he says. Insisting that they are busy "all week," he tells the imaginary Obama representative: "We’ll get back to you." An announcer chimes in, concluding that Obama is "no match for America’s enemies."

"We wanted to cut through the clutter of so many political ads with something that was funny and different," said PAC coordinator Joe Wierzbicki, adding that the group is putting at least $150,000 behind the new spot. "We think this will be an effective means by which to remind people that Obama has almost zero foreign policy experience, and has already provoked controversy over remarks he has made in the realms of foreign policy and national defense."

Our Country Deserves Better PAC wrapped up a 15-day "Stop Obama" road trip in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, after hitting battleground states Nevada, Colorado, Michigan and Ohio, among others.