Why is it that, without fail, the worst, most tedious, too-long political ads of the season have come from people who are paid exclusively to make films?

One would think that entertainment professionals could at least manage to, well, entertain during a short political ad. But nope. Leonardo DiCaprio, Sarah Silverman, and a host of other stars brought us five minutes of the one-note joke, "Don't vote."

Now, famed director Ron Howard brings us this slightly funnier and mercifully shorter endorsement of Barack Obama, co-starring Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler. It still drags on for 3:40, and the cheap thrill of seeing Opie and Andy fishing together again is offset entirely by watching the sheriff endorse Obama, presumably because he thinks all international crises can be solved if only Obama and Ahamadinejad could settle in for a creek-side chat in Mayberry about Israel, "the stinking corpse" and America, "the Great Satan."

Somewhere, Aunt Bea and Barney Fife are looking down and endorsing McCain: "Nip it in the bud! You got to nip it in the bud!" You can find Howard's stultifying video making ill use of beloved cultural icons, below the fold.