Too extreme or not? That is the question

It's only August and already it has become clear what the overriding issue will be in the November election for governor:

Is Mark Green too extreme, or what?

Gov. Jim Doyle's campaign raised the issue in an ad highlighting Green's opposition to stem cell research.

That commercial's been off the air for a week, but today Green unveiled his first commercial -- and it's a response to last week's Doyle ad. It tries to be light=hearted, but the "extreme" tag clearly has stung Green.

That should be good news for Doyle World. Green's starting his TV campaign in a defensive posture, responding to an ad that's already run its course.

If Green's campaign feels it needs to reply, you can bet their polling shows it's done some damage.

For Doyle, this has to be very encouraging. You could even say extremely encouraging.