Matlock Tire ran a slickly produced ad several times during the bowl games yesterday. The ad looked suspiciously like a political campaign ad. It features Jimmy Matlock talking about his personal values, character and community involvement and looking very serious and important. There may have been one shot of a tire being mounted.

Matlock is running in the Republican primary for Jimmy Duncan's seat in Congress. He bought himself a lot of air time yesterday to get his name and face in front of a large viewing audience. Well, we guess he bought it. It could have been anybody. It could have been supporters spending way over the campaign finance limits to fund the ads. It could have been tea party nuts or other right wing extremists or the NRA.

But we don't know because "commercials" aren't required to have the "bought and paid for" notice. And he's not required to report the production and air time cost as campaign expenditures. Not saying there's anything illegal about it, but it would be a creative way to get around those pesky campaign finance laws intended to promote transparency. And Matlock seems like the kind of guy who hates oppressive government regulation.