As we head into the final days before the election, out come the worst sort of attack ads: the ones that won't stand up to scrutiny, so they are released right before the election so they cannot be rebutted in time.

In Colorado: A GOP mailer accuses Democrat Ed Perlmutter of opposing sex-offender notification laws. The bill in question was killed at the request of law enforcement, and Perlmutter helped pass a more comprehensive notification bill the following year.

In Arizona: In a House race, Republican Randy Graf has accused his opponent, Gabrielle Giffords, of engineering a sweetheart land deal with the city of Tuscon -- a charge that appears to be clearly false.

In Virginia: While Democrats fan rumors that Sen. George Allen is a racist domestic abuser who is hiding a criminal record, Allen's campaign has tried to paint challenger James Webb as a sexual deviant based on passages in Webb's bestselling novels.

In Ohio: Republicans accuse Democratic House candidate John Cranley of wanting to use tasers on 7-year-olds.

There's more. FactCheck.org estimates that 90 percent of Republican ads and 80 percent of Democratic ads are negative.

Separately, we have simple political embarassment:

In Washington: John Kerry finally got around to apologizing for his remarks of a couple of days ago. It seems obvious that he simply screwed up an anti-Bush joke, and shame on the Republicans for cynically pushing the issue. But the gaffe -- and his ridiculous response to having it pointed out -- again highlight why he managed to lose to Bush two years ago, and why no Democrats are eager to see him run again. Most, in fact, just wish he would shut up.

In Nevada: A waitress has accused GOP Rep. Jim Gibbons, who is running for governor, of assaulting her. He says he merely helped her when she tripped.

In New York: The Daily News has released details of a 911 call from 2005, in which the wife of GOP Rep John Sweeney said he was "knocking her around the house."

Bleh.

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Man up.

And another one:

Out of Miami, another election-eve embarassment for Republicans -- and a reminder that, however much progress we have made, racism remains.

How can we measure progress? Well, in the following ways: Arza was widely repudiated and forced to apologize and resign his seat. 50 years ago, that wouldn't have been the case.

But such behavior by an elected official also points up how old attitudes die hard. We'll never eradicate racism, merely ameliorate its effects; but such venom from a position of power suggests we still have a ways to go.

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Man up.

Not surprisingly, you have exempted demo race-baited attacks against Steele.

via the Washington Times:

Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican.

Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with Oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log.

Operatives for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also obtained a copy of his credit report -- the only Republican candidate so targeted.

But black Democrats say there is nothing wrong with "pointing out the obvious."

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"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill

Hey, add 'em in. This thread is to bemoan sleaze on both sides of the aisle. Which is why the initial post included bits about Webb and Kerry.

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Man up.

Negative campaigning does not necessarily mean sleaze. For instance, the Perlmutter ad is about something he did, and he does have the chance to answer as your post proves. Perlmutter has highlighted a 1994 essay O'Donnell wrote calling for the abolishment of Social Security, which the Republican now disavows. Both of these are negative, but not sleaze, IMO. I welcome the fact that it's about issues and causes the candidates positions ultimately to be better known.

The racial stuff gets to me though. If Cardin had publicly denounced the crap his supporters did, he'd be up by 20 points. The same goes for Webb if he had taken the high road. His books are fair game though (my husband likes them though he disagrees with his Iraq stance).

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"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." ~Ronald Reagan

True. But it often does. Especially this close to the election.

It was sleaze in my book because it deliberately distorted his actual position. It's like saying a Senator voted against cute babies, ignoring the fact that he had introduced even stronger legislation supporting cute babies.

And the GOP accusation was mailed to homes; everyone got it. Because of time constraints, Perlmutter has to hope that those voters will read his rebuttal in the newspaper or hear it on television. In the short-term, the accusation is almost always more effective than the rebuttal.

This seems legitimate, because it doesn't misrepresent his position back then. But any mention of it should acknowledge that O'Donnell now disavows it. Do it with a skeptical tone; fine. But do it.

Most candidates don't disavow what their supporters do. I hate to trot out the old example of McCain's black baby in 2000, but Bush didn't disavow that. I think that candidates should disavow significant efforts that they disagree with. I haven't followed the Cardin-Steele race closely enough to know if the substantiated actions by Cardin supporters meet the "significant" test, either singly or in toto. If they do, then Cardin should have disavowed it.

I think going after Webb for his books is ridiculous. But we already have a thread or two on that.

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Man up.

What??? Only ONE side's sleaze presented???? How sleazy!

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"What exactly is this foreign policy experience?" Obama said mockingly of the New York senator. "Was she negotiating treaties? Was she handling crises? The answer is no."

Hey, I find what I find. And I found Webb and Kerry in the initial post. Barney added Cardin.

Here's a Dem for you:
http://billhobbs.com/2006/11/fast_ca...t_on_tape.html

State Senate candidate in Tennessee, who four years ago asked, in open court, for a speeding ticket to be dismissed because she's a lawyer.

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Man up.

In Connecticut Republican Nancy Johnson has an AD running which shows her Democratic opponant campaigning door to door but then shows these 1960's hippies drug addict looking guys opening their door and saying HEY Murph's here, look guys Murph's here ....

When questioned about the sleezness she said " all campaigns need some humor" .

I wonder how she would have liked it if Murph had an ad showing NANCY JOHNSON being paid off by lobbyists for killing a health insurance bill !!!! humor works both ways !!!!

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" Sarah Palin HAS elected BARACK Obama THE PRESIDENT"

http://www.factcheck.org/article451.html

Democratic challenger Chris Murphy's ad falsely implies that incumbent Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut failed to respond to a local resident's pleas for help with her son's medical problems.

The resident, Erin McCall-Goldie, says she contacted Johnson for help getting corrective surgery for her son's cleft lip and palate and was ignored. "I contacted Nancy Johnson's office repeatedly. She never called back," McCall-Goldie says, adding that she got better treatment from State Sen. Murphy, who "passed a law mandating insurance coverage for reconstructive facial surgery."

In fact, McCall-Goldie contacted Murphy first, and didn't write to Johnson until nearly three years later. And when she did, it was as head of a advocacy group pushing for federal legislation. She wasn't seeking direct assistance for her son.

The ad says McCall-Goldie contacted Johnson's office thirteen times and that she "never called back." That seems to be true, but a member of Johnson's staff did send an email response once, and the mother chatted with the congresswoman at two different public events. The ad also neglects to mention that McCall-Goldie held local office briefly, as a Democrat....

We can do this all night.

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"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." ~Ronald Reagan