Republican Gordon Smith's ad touts ties to Obama, and Democrats protest

[depakid]

Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, stepping up his efforts to run from his Republican roots in his advertising, on Tuesday released a new TV commercial that promotes his ties to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Smith's effort to enlist Obama's name in his advertising was met with protests from Democrats, but the McCain campaign said it wasn't concerned that it would hurt their candidate in Oregon.

Meanwhile, another attempt by Smith to build his bipartisan credentials ran into trouble Tuesday.

Former Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Furse acknowledged she misspoke when she praised the Republican senator in a TV ad for his campaign.

Furse said she was wrong when she claimed in the commercial that Smith was "one of the first to stand up to George Bush and other Republicans to end this war" in Iraq. She said she should have stated that Smith -- who supported the war for its first 31/2 years -- was one of the first Republicans to speak out against it.

"I know that he wasn't the first to oppose the war," said Furse. "He was one of the first of his party to oppose the war . . . That is what I meant."

The two ads and the controversy surrounding them demonstrate how hard Smith has worked to attract Democratic and independent voters in a state where Republicans have become increasingly outgunned. Smith is the last statewide elected Republican, and he now repeatedly argues that he is effective at working across party lines.

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If the ads continue, seems to me the Obama campaign needs to be a bit more emphatic about Gorgon Smith, who's never been a friend to progressives.

[Lasher]

1. Not very popular these days to be a Republican

That's why they're lying about it.

[davidpdx]

2. Slick Gordo's ads are one of the biggest lies out there

He claims to be an "independent" when he is nothing more then one of Bush's henchmen.

http://www.stopgordonsmith.com/