Meanwhile, In Pakistan

The election campaign heats up:

The political advertisements provide a revealing lens on the campaign strategies of Pakistan's political parties.  The People's Party has been light on policy, though it has long been associated with the pro-poor slogan "Roti, Kapra, Makan" (Bread, Clothing, and a Home), and bullish on its newest martyr, Benazir Bhutto.  Before Benazir's murder, the PPP mobilized the masses with a charismatic populism, and this approach has only intensified afterward.  Both the Muslim League-Quaid and Muslim League-Nawaz present themselves as results-oriented governors behind far-reaching economic development and humanitarian projects.  Both try to say, "We get stuff done."  But while the PML-Q lacks a popular base and a central figure, Nawaz Sharif has a loyal following in northern Punjab and transformed from a Zia-protege to a man of his own semi-charismatic self.  He has long been the development guy, but now Sharif also seeks to be the defender of the judiciary, media, and inflation-struck poor and middle classes.