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Lieberman tries 'hard to find' pitch

By TIMES WIRES
Published October 28, 2006

Hartford, Conn.

Sen. Joe Lieberman is invoking a familiar refrain: "A Good Man Is Hard to Find."

Lieberman lost to Democrat Ned Lamont in the August primary and is running independently as the candidate of the newly formed "Connecticut for Lieberman" party. Because of that, his name will be listed far down on various Nov. 7 ballots around the state.

Fearing voters won't be able to find him, the three-term senator is launching an advertising effort in the coming days to educate voters about his place on the ballot. In addition to leaflets, the campaign plans to air a radio jingle and a TV ad featuring Lieberman to avoid any voter confusion. Campaign leaflets will feature the "Good Man is Hard to Find" line.

"Obviously, part of it is to get people's attention," Lieberman spokeswoman Tammy Sun said Friday.

Lieberman enjoys a double-digit lead in the latest statewide polls.

Cleveland

Final debate held in Ohio Senate race

Republican Sen. Mike DeWine, fighting to keep his job, reached back through two decades on Friday to accuse Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown of running a "scandal-ridden office" in his days as secretary of state.

DeWine also called Brown an absent lawmaker when the candidates met in their fourth and final debate - a feisty exchange that drew loud applause and boos.

Brown, a seven-term congressman, said DeWine and the Bush administration didn't recognize failures with the war in Iraq and ran up budget deficits. He accused the Republicans of not protecting Ohio residents from the loss of about 200,000 manufacturing jobs and increased college tuition.

"Our so-called leaders - our governor and our senior senator - have stood by, passively, almost indifferently," Brown said.

The race - one of the nation's most closely watched as Democrats aim to take control of Congress - had been tight, but Brown has recently edged ahead of the two-term incumbent.

The debate came a day after the Republican National Committee said it wouldn't run any television ads on behalf of DeWine in the campaign's final week.

In opening remarks, DeWine said Brown has passed few bills during his time in Congress. And in 1983, while Ohio secretary of state, Brown's office was investigated over allegations some staffers were dealing drugs, DeWine said.

"Congressman Brown in his eight years as secretary of state had a scandal-ridden office," DeWine said.

Washington

House Democrats launch late TV ads

House Democrats launched late-campaign television attacks beginning Friday night against Republican lawmakers in Kansas, Kentucky and New Hampshire, hoping to increase their prospects of gaining control of Congress in the Nov. 7 elections.

Republicans disclosed plans for expanded advertising, as well, but only for seats they are defending as they struggle to protect their majority.

The Democratic ads took aim at Reps. Jim Ryun of Kansas, Ron Lewis of Kentucky and Charles Bass of New Hampshire, three veteran lawmakers not generally viewed as having close races this fall despite a generally difficult political environment for Republicans.

Ryun "voted against a $1,500 combat bonus for our troops, but voted to give himself a huge pay raise - twice," the ad says of the five-term lawmaker. It praises his rival, Nancy Boyda, as "honest and independent - the right change for Kansas."

The district, centered on Topeka, has been in Republican hands for years. The race and the commercial do not mention that Boyda is a Democrat.

The ad is similar to one the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran as part of its effort against Republican Rep. John Hostettler of Indiana.

[Last modified October 28, 2006, 00:33:00]