Aside from name recognition and strength among senior voters, it’s long been assumed that one of the strengths of Mark Dayton’s primary campaign for the DFL nomination for guv would be TV ads, and the money to air them extensively.

The first ad will start airing tonight, but it’s available now on the web.

It’s a 60-second spot that covers a lot of ground. Dayton the traveler to all Minnesota counties, seeking to learn the wisdom of the people, Dayton the hockey goalie, the idealistic young man who taught in the New York slums, the scion of the department store family, the senator who voted against the Iraq war, the candidate who wants to tax the rich and undo the damage that the Pawlenty years have done to Minnesota.

Check it out above.

What think?