Much has been made of Senator Scott Browns truck, much of it by the Massachusetts Republican himself. In fact, when hes not being photographed in it or mentioning it on the stump, hes working it into intimate nighttime conversation with his wife, even when the nominal topic is Todd Akin (senate contests another regular subject once the lights are low, as married couples can attest). As quoted in the New York Times:

Gail and I were laying in bed last night and talking a little bit, as we do every night, he said, and I said: Honey, can you imagine? Here I am, Scott Brown from Wrentham, and Ive got a truck thats got 238,000 miles on it and, you know, something like this comes up and Im the first guy in the country to even bring it up and tell the guy to step down.

Can you imagine, honey? 238,000 miles. Oh, yeah, Todd Akinwhat a nut, am I right? But, wow, 238,000 miles!Brown is running strong against democrat Elizabeth Warren, but truck-talk might not be the only reason. From E.J. Dionne's latest column, now on our website:

Elizabeth Warren is the kind of person Massachusetts has always liked to send to the U.S. Senate. She would instantly become a national leader, which appeals in a state that has sent to Washington Democrats such as John and Edward Kennedy and Republicans such as Henry Cabot Lodge and Edward Brooke.So why hasn't one of this year's most exciting Senate candidates put the election away? The obstacle is a Republican incumbent who is making voters forget that he's a Republican.

In Massachusetts, making voters forget youre a Republican can be a good strategy, one for which there is significant precedent.But Brown has already traded on his truck to win one election. Maybe he'll get some more mileage out of it by putting some more miles on. What do you say, honey how about I go for 300,000?