Obama Takes Star Turn in Republican Ads

[Commentary] Barack Obama's campaign has spent more than $70 million to air more than 121,000 campaign ads. But the ads starring Obama that his campaign is not paying for are attracting the most attention. Recently, we have seen candidates, interest groups and a state political party all using Obama's quotes, pastor and likeness in an attempt to attack their opponents. This is nothing new. As long as there have been politicians, they've tried to link their opponents, in a game of guilt by association, to identifiable and polarizing political figures. What this trend shows is that the "movement" atmosphere that once surrounded Obama and made him appear untouchable has now seemingly disappeared, at least in some parts of the country. Conservative candidates, the Republican party and right-wing interest groups are not going to hesitate to use Obama's likeness as a way to denounce and triangulate Democratic opponents. This may be something Democratic super delegates consider when deciding which candidate to support. Of course, the bad news for John McCain and the Republicans is that Democrats will still have Bush and Cheney to counter with in ads this Fall.
http://adage.com/campaigntrail/post?article_id=126802