Maryland State Comptroller Peter Franchot leaves no political marketing opportunity unturned.

He tours Baltimore County schools and argues against slots, poking rivals Jim Smith and Martin O'Malley in the process.

And like Louis Goldstein and William Donald Schaefer before him, he has learned that he has to make the most out of the basically routine stuff his office does: collecting taxes, handing out rebates and cracking down on cigarette smuggling.

With tax season approaching (an an election year not far away), his office is shifting into high gear. One of their main points recently has been encouraging Maryland taxpayers to file returns online, to avoid the expense and time of hand-processing. As part of that effort, his staff today put up a pretty darn funny video on YouTube to make their point. It's worth a watch. It's a spoof of a spoof, based on the funny Bud Light "Real American Heroes" series. You know -- like the salute to the Foam Finger Maker or the Bowling Shoe Sprayer. This one salutes the Electronic Tax Filer.

Perhaps we like it because we like beer. We also smell Len Foxwell's hand behind the scenes. Bonus points to those who correctly identify the "actors" in the video. They must all be comptroller office employees, right?