Ted Cruz vs. Rand Paul in Presidential Vids: Do you want a "Blessing" or "a different kind of Republican?"

Here's "Blessing," Sen. Ted Cruz's first campaign video as an official candidate for the GOP presidential nomination:

And here's Sen. Rand Paul's first entry into the same category. Paul will announce his run for the White House tomorrow:

The differences go far beyond the formats imposed by a 30-second TV spot and a longer online video—and they're indicative, I assume, of different emphases by the candidate. Where Cruz, who announced his bid at Liberty University, the world's largest religious college, is clearly driving hard toward evangelicals, Paul is stressing a larger, more-inclusive vision of the GOP. He talks about being "a different kind of Republican" and the need for specific things such as a balanced budget. The rhetoric about finding a "road back" to prosperity and respect abroad seems misbegotten: You don't have to go full Don Draper to know the best roads lead forward, not backwards. But overall, this is a strong market being laid down by an insurgent candidate whose main selling point is that he's not your typical big-government GOP hawk cum social con. 

Ted Cruz's YouTube page here.

Rand Paul's YouTube page here.