If I were asked to guess if Massachusetts was having a Senate election and was only allowed to judge by television coverage, I would have to say the only race that was going on at the moment was the presidential one. Maybe I was checking the wrong stations at the wrong times, but I had yet to see a political ad by Senator Kerry - until now, that is.

Yesterday, the Kerry campaign unveiled a wonderful ad that will run in Massachusetts for several weeks. It's about time, I say. It is easy for those of us who follow John Kerry's work in the Senate closely, to forget that not everyone has the same degree of political involvement as we do. It can hardly be expected that every Massachusetts resident of voting age knows the Senator's entire legislative history, and how it has impacted our state and us, but this lack of detailed knowledge inevitably leads to the question:

'What have you done for us lately, John?'**

This first ad in a series focuses on just one of Senator Kerry's many causes - the fight for our veterans. Watch as Specialist Sean Bannon describes his return from Iraq, and how our Senator went to bat for him in more ways than one:

Here I must confess that I also didn't know the extent of Senator Kerry's work on behalf of vets, active duty, and their family members. Before my husband finally retired after 20 years of service in the Air Force, he also had the $250,000 Service Life Insurance that would be payable to his spouse in the event of his death. What I did not realize was that this policy was only available (at affordable rates) to active duty personnel, and only thanks to Senator Kerry was it made available to reservists called to active duty and National Guard members.

While Specialist Bannon's testimony is only one personal example, Senator Kerry's continued leadership in Veterans Issues is exemplary.

Last year, as part of the Fiscal 2007 Supplemental Appropriations Conference Report, the nation's VA Vet Centers received $20 Million in funding - money that Senator Kerry had included as part of the war funding supplemental. Seven Massachusetts Vet Centers benefitted, as well.

Just recently, the new Housing Bill was signed into law, and it contained four key provisions introduced by Senator Kerry. Aside from helping thousands of Massachusetts homeowners (not a bad feat in and of itself), one of the provisions is directly aimed at easing the housing crisis for military folks.

* The bill also contains provisions to amend the Service Members Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by extending the period a lender must wait before starting disclosure procedures from 90 days to nine months after a service member has returned from active duty and capping interest on mortgages at 6 percent for one year after a serviceperson completes his/her services.

A visit and search through the legislation at the official Senate website would yield many more bills sponsored and co-sponsored by John Kerry that are a part of his fight for the Vets and active duty troops and their families. But this brings us right back to the beginning of the post: A lot of people don't have the time, nor the (sometimes admittedly obsessive) inclination to follow every piece of legislation ever introduced by the good Senator.

So yes, bring us more ads to highlight at least some of the great work JK has done for Mass. and the country. I would be willing to bet that a lot of people will watch the ad, and have the above question** answered.