(* The amount that will likely be spent on political ads this election cycle.)

GOP presidential wannabe Rick Perry (R-Have I Stopped Laughing Yet?) is now being propped up by a $382,000 ad campaign just launched in Iowa and South Carolina by the Perry-loving Super PAC Make Us Great Again.

The South Carolina ad:

The Iowa ad:

The transcripts (via Politico Playbook):

–S.C. version, “Leadership”: “His dad was a tenant farmer. His wife, a nurse. Rick Perry served in the Air Force, then came home to farm cotton. A solid conservative, Perry made his state the leader in manufacturing exports, passed major lawsuit reform, cut burdensome regulations. The result: 1 million new jobs. Rick Perry: conservative leadership that works. Make Us Great Again is responsible for the content of this ad.” 

–Iowa version, “Conservative”: “His dad was a tenant farmer. His wife, a nurse. Rick Perry served in the Air Force, then came home to farm cotton. A solid conservative, Perry’s balanced every budget, passed major lawsuit reform, cut 15 BILLION in spending. The result: 1 million new jobs. Rick Perry: conservative leadership that works. Make Us Great Again is responsible for the content of this ad.”

That works quite nicely with Perry’s own Iowa ad, but it’s merely a coincidence according to MSNBC’s First Read:

The two [Make Us Great Again] ads (here and here) are similar, and they dovetail with the Perry campaign’s own positive ads in Iowa. *** CLARIFICATION *** First Read is no way implying Make Us Great Again is coordinating with the Perry campaign; we were just noting the coincidence of the timing and the states involved.

Uh-huh.