First - and I say this affectionately, without malice - you're all idiots! What does this commercial mean? It means that Grayout, after all this time and effort, still has no confidence in his base. In fact, it means that the one-two punch of a strong Green Party candidate (who even likes Simon!) and Simon's moderate stands on the environment, is working.
The other thing it means is that Davis is continuing the negative strategy he has been using since the start, even though it's been increasing his own negatives faster than anything else.
Now, there's no doubt we've been dealt a setback, and a significant one. I'm sure Davis and South are cackling evilly in their lair about the possibilities surrounding the debacle. Just remember that at the same time they're trying to increase people's doubts, they will increase their negatives, too. Of course this is normally how negative campaigns work, but in this case there's an unusual added twist: Gray Davis' negatives are already so high that every increase in them greatly endangers his campaign.
It's downright dumb to give up on Simon just because he's received a setback or two. So has Davis. Both candidates are imperfect men, just like you and me. But that doesn't mean we don't know which one would be better for California, no?
D