I remember playing this game in the past, but I am just picking up the 2012 version now, and I am finding the advertising choices very odd.

In the real world, TV ads are king.  Effective television advertising (and the money to do it) has dominated recent presidential elections.  But it seems to me that TV ads are not the clear choice in this game.

A radio ad campaign costs considerably less, and changes voters minds twice as much!  And increases national awareness three times as much!  And changes the candidate's position 50% more.  The only counterargument is that a television ad campaign give a  "national position bonus" of 2/week.

I'm not really sure what this last item means (documentation is not a strength of this game), but I'll guess that your position changes everywhere, not just in that state...  Which could be a very good thing, but could also be less advantageous, depending.

1) The idea that a radio ad in Idaho can make New Yorkers considerably more aware of the candidate seems very odd.  That a television ad in Idaho would have far less impact on distant voters seems odder still.

2) The idea that a radio ad generally affects the in-state audience more than a TV ad seems just crazy.

Am I missing something here?