Does Ted Cruz Realize He's Not Running for Office This Year?

His new video is just the most recent political ad to resemble a Hollywood blockbuster.

If you didn't think Ted Cruz was mulling a run for president, watch this new video from his Senate campaign committee. You know, in case those Iowa trips didn't convince you already.

The video culls portions of Cruz's recent CPAC speech, highlighting lines about Obamacare, the IRS, and the Constitution, accompanied by dramatic instrumental music. It's the Ted Cruz version of Braveheart, basically. It also makes you wonder why politicians don't just provide a real-time score of their speeches as they're delivering them.

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Such dramatic political campaign videos have come into vogue the past couple of campaign cycles. Add dramatic strings, thunder claps, a flickering television set, ominous pictures of the White House, dystopian shots of abandoned buildings, and people with their heads in their hands, and voilà! You've got an grade-A political blockbuster.

A bunch of these campaign ads closely resemble specific movie trailers. Cruz's CPAC speech almost resembles Mel Gibson's monologue from the end of Braveheart:

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Now, we have this ad for Gov. Chris Christie that criticizes President Obama's jobs plan. It's called The Re-Awakening:

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Which is pretty much the trailer for the second Matrix movie (not even the first!).

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When trouble arises, whom do you want to pick up the phone? According to Hillary Clinton's campaign, Hillary Clinton.

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That ad, with its focus on sleeping children, makes us think of this trailer for Hook.

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Ron Paul's ad is unabashedly a movie trailer.

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So we'll just compare it to this super-cut of movie trailers that also feature the "one man" phrase:

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And, as Business Insider notes, this Tim Pawlenty ad "¦

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... bears a striking resemblance to the art-house feature Tree of Life:

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While Anthony Weiner's failed mayoral bid kicked off with this campaign ad that could double as a New York City tourism ad:

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And also every other Manhattan-based romantic comedy. Like Hitch!

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And this 16-minute long video featuring Tom Hanks's narration from the Obama campaign doubles as both an ad and its own movie. Because it's 16 minutes long. Too long!

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Gritty patriotism — coming to a campaign near you.