What does desperation look like? (Smith's new ads)

Kari Chisholm

Somewhere in Gordon Smith's campaign office, they've got a glass case. It's labeled, "In case of emergency, break glass."

I always figured Smith was going to wait until mid-October, but it seems that desperation has set in already.

And no wonder, with the recent poll numbers and the revelations about his hiring of illegal immigrants.

So, what does a U.S. Senator do when he's desperate, unable to talk about his own accomplishments, and faced with an opponent who's barnstorming the state and talking about real issues on TV?

Answer: Release an eye-poppingly outrageous ad that misleads the voters with untrue claims - and tries to tie the opponent to a horrific crime that happened 20 years ago. In fact, release two of them:

For the record, when it was a stand-alone bill, Merkley voted to extend the statute of limitations for sex crimes. And he voted to support mandatory life imprisonment for serial sex offenders with possible parole after 30 years.

It's Gordon Smith who voted five times against funding the COPS program (the 100,000-cop neighborhood policing program) and against higher funding for the Violence Against Women program.

That's what desperation looks like.

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By Kari Chisholm Sept. 12, 2008