In another state, John Faso would be the guy with money. He's a Republican. A lawyer. He considers Eliot Spitzer's crusade against corporate corruption bad for business, and he's proposed a sweeping Bushian tax overhaul.

Instead, his war chest could barely fund a game of Battleship — as of July 15, the Faso campaign had $1.4 million; Spitzer reported $8.5 million on September 22 — and his first ad is a study in anti-capitalist aesthetics.

A lone lightbulb dangles in a dank basement that might double as an anarchist squat. A woman's warning voice lists Spitzer's intended sins — increased spending and higher taxes — that will further lay waste to the upstate economy. "If Eliot Spitzer gets his way, it may be time for the last one in upstate New York to turn out the light." Click. Darkness. Not exactly a vision of hope and promise for a better tomorrow, but upstate fearmongering is a necessary element of any New York campaign.

On a side note, who or what is The Last One? And is there anything we can do personally to help him, her, or it in this apparent time of crisis?