UPDATE: It apparently was here for today’s End the Fed rally at the Federal Reserve Bank. The sky advert was last seen in these parts at the tail end of the Republican National Convention. The timing and location made a certain amount of sense. But on a Saturday two-and-a-half weeks after the election, with a U.S. Senate recount in progress? What does Ron Paul have to do with that? Why here? Why now? Is this any better a use of fuel than Detroit’s Big Three auto execs each jetting into D.C. on private planes? Or does it simply signal that with the recount the Twin Cities have again achieved a critical mass of TV news crews? 

(UPDATE: Okay, it’s not as momentous a cinematic moment as, say, the cavemen discovering the monolith in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” But we’ve been reading these Rybak-Obama tea leaves for months now, so we take it as it comes.)

If the stunt sets a poor example for the state’s growing legions of job-seekers, the video  – which is meant to promote free weekend parking at Gaviidae Common in downtown Minneapolis during the holiday shopping season – actually lives up to its “fun” billing in the mayor’s tweet about it today. Other highlights: Rybak abusing escalator protocol and poking fun at his checkered driving record (news video).

And if the finger-puppet clip does nix R.T.’s chances for a D.C. gig, at least the video gives a taste of what a Bill Hillsman-type Rybak-for-Governor ad might look like. See it after the jump.