West Virginia Republican John Raese is gaining much more ground than expected in his US Senate race and has just come out with a hard hitting ad about his Democratic opponent's long record of supporting President Barack Obama's liberal agenda. But rather than try to defend himself on the issues, Governor Joe Manchin contacted the daughter of the late Senator Robert Byrd to tell her that a photo used in the ad was taken at her father's memorial service.

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Manchin campaign spokeswoman Sara Payne Scarbro said the governor had contacted Marjorie Byrd Moore after getting calls about the ad and Ms. Moore subsequently e-mailed a statement to The Associated Press. The family statement claimed that using a photo of Governor Manchin and President Obama seated beside each other is "a tasteless and insensitive act by Mr. Raese [and] is insulting to the memory of Robert Byrd and should have no place in a West Virginia political campaign." (source)

There is nothing in the photo that indicates the location or refers to the late Senator and Raese campaign manager Jim Dornan defended its usage saying, "That's a stock photo. We had no idea it was from the memorial service."

It's understandable why Mr. Manchin would try to get the late senator's daughter to complain on his behalf. The ad details the governor's support of Obamacare, $400 billion in Medicare cuts and raising taxes. It ends with the claim that a Senator Manchin would be a "rubber stamp for Obama" and that is sure to hit the mark in a state where the president has a dismal 34% approval rating. (source)

Unfortunately for Governor Manchin, while he prefers to get others to whine on his behalf, Mr. Raese and the voters of West Virginia are concentrating on the actual issues outlined in the ad.