The Lead

The Campaign for Senate in North Carolina is close, and Senator Dole has decided to win the race by making false allegations about her opponent's alleged atheism. Here is the ad that Dole has been running:

The response by Kay Hagen, an elder at a local Presbyterian Church where she teaches Sunday school was quick, and effective:

At least one analyst, J.P. Green, thinks that Dole just lost the election by resorting to this tactic:

It appears that Sen. Liddy Dole (R-NC) has lost either her marbles or control of her campaign. Dole has unleashed a ridiculously bombastic ad that tries to slime her opponent, Kay Hagan as "Godless." Hagan has put in time as both a Sunday school teacher and church elder in a Greensboro Presbyterian church her family has attended for more than a century.
. . .

It's a huge blunder. No doubt Dole hopes to fire up her evangelical base for the home stretch. But Dole's absurd allegations are easily rebutted, given Hagan's clear record of commitment to her Christian faith. It's hard to see how Dole can get off scott-free from the consequences of such a silly accusation. And not all evangelicals are happy about what Hagan describes as Dole's 'false witness.' The latest NC Senate race poll average at Pollster.com has Hagan ahead by a margin of 46.6 to 43 percent. If the people of North Carolina are as decent as I think, Dole's ad could cost her the election.

I remember Dole once saying that her husband, Bob Dole's lagging campaign for the Presidency needed "adult supervision." It looks like her campaign has the same problem.

Read it all here.

What do you think?

Comments (3)

I think if I see one more campaign ad- I will lose my mind. No TV until Tuesday is my motto

Posted by Ann Fontaine | November 3, 2008 7:27 AM

Even by the no holds barred standards of a political campaign, the Dole ad is reprehensible.

Posted by Jim Naughton | November 3, 2008 9:43 AM

Juxtaposing this item with the prior one, "Why I Am Not a Christian," by Andrew Brown, seems ironic. Christian politicians who use any means to win should perhaps meditate a little longer on the meaning of the cross.

Posted by George Clifford | November 3, 2008 5:08 PM

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