Dole:Desperate & Dispicable

After a previous column, I decided that I would write no more columns on Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)or the North Carolina Senate race. However, Dole has stooped to such a low that her actions can not be left unaddressed.

Dole, down only a few points in the polls, but considered a goner politically, has apparently panicked and reached a level of desperation that is difficult to comprehend. Accusing her opponent of being an atheist (to echo Colin Powell, " and what if she was?") in a deliberate effort to mislead the voters of North Carolina.

Being labeled an atheist in American politics is the quickest route to defeat. Ethnic minorities, homosexuals, even socialists are more likely to be elected to office than an atheist. As far as I am aware, only Rep. Pete Stark, (D-CA) is an admitted atheist among the 535 members of the House and Senate.

It's a shame that Dole, who has a political resume as hefty as anyone in the Senate, has to resort to such an obvious ploy. Elizabeth Dole no more believes that her opponent, State Senator Kay Hagan, is an atheist than she believes the moon is made of cheese. The first of these fliers that I personally received, (four in total, so far) was so far over the top that I actually checked to see if this was some sort of political satire. Unfortunately, Dole's name appears right on the mailer. Now Dole has begun to run TV ads that end with her opponent's face and the words, "There is no God." The implication is that Hagan is speaking the words, which is factually untrue.

Hagan, a former Sunday School teacher, is already on the defense addressing the issue head on. There are rumors that the campaign is reportedly planning to sue the Dole campaign due to the false nature of the ad.

It is important to comment on this ad campaign for reasons other than those stated above. Elizabeth Dole is demonstrating that she has nothing else to offer but a tragic distortion of reality in order to attempt a dispicable manipulation of voters. Voters, it must be noted, for whom Dole has nothing but contempt. These ads are as close as I have ever seen any politician come in attmepting to insult the intelligence of the voters and get away with it.

Elizabeth Dole has destroyed whatever political legacy she may have had with this smear. If her political views are so out of step with her constituents that she can not even run on them, but must instead resort to what will ultimately be seen as one of the sleaziest attacks of this whole election (quite a feat considering all the competition), then Dole should have never attempted to run for re-election.

Elizabeth Dole, you should be ashamed.