The republicans are so scared of having Harold Ford Jr [1], a black man as not just the next senator of Tennessee but a black man as the replacement to Bill Frist, that this is what passes to them as fair in the game of political advertising:
Harold Ford is a very smart guy and a shrewd politician. When asked on FoxNews Sunday [2] if he thought the ad was racist, this is what he answered:
WALLACE: Congressman, Bob Corker also ran a radio at in which when they talk about you they have drums beating, and, when they talk about him, they have a symphonic choir singing and playing. Are Republicans playing the race card in Tennessee, or is that too politically explosive for you to talk about?
FORD: You'd probably have to ask Bob Corker and the Republican National Committee. I do know this. The first ad you showed was a piece of smut, and they should not have run that here. I don't know what would make Ken Mehlman or any national Republican believe that we in Tennessee would want to see something like that.
WALLACE: Why do you think it was a piece of smut, sir?
FORD: A woman bare, looking as if she was naked from her shoulders down and saying, "Cal me, I met you at a Playboy party," it's just unnecessary, out of line. And Tennesseans rejected it.
This other ad, this radio ad, I don't bother to listen to a whole lot of what my opponent runs, but if, indeed, your characterization is true, he should explain what he's trying to do in that ad. I can't quite figure it out myself.
They put out the bait but he didn't take it. Good for him.
On a personal note : I met Harold Ford, not at a playboy party like the ad says, but in his Congressional Office. I was part of a group of netactivists put together by Andrew Rasiej [3] last year. We went down to Washington DC to talk about net neutrality [4] and to urge Congress to vote against H.R. 5252: Advanced Telecommunications and Opportunities Reform Act [5]. We failed on our effort since he voted to pass it.
I am still out on whether Harold Ford is the kind Democrat I would be partying about. He is against abortion, obviously a happy big business camper, and basically too conservative for my taste. If his voting record in Congress is any indication of what he might do in the Senate, Republicans ought to be wary about his conservative streak.
That said, and this is on a very personal note, if the man looks good on TV, you have no idea how hot he is in person. I would so totally hit that.
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