The Scarlet Letter

Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) knows that his party label is huge liability in Oregon and he's tried just about everything short of leaving the Republican party. One of Smith's ads features former Democratic state lawmakers. Another ad makes it seem like Obama was endorsing him. The third features John Kerry. Smith's latest ad portrays him as a maverick on Iraq.



Smith recently resigned as McCain's co-chair for Oregon although he was an early supporter of Sen. McCain's candidacy. He will also be absent from the Republican convention in St. Paul.

Time will tell if Oregon voters will overlook the "R" next Gordon Smith but the ads themselves are pretty well made. His Democratic challenger and the Speaker of the Oregon House, Jeff Merkeley might want to start highlighting Smith's election-year moderation before the narrative about Smith being a maverick gets any more established.