I appreciate that Calpundit condemns the 527 ad as a Political Smear, especially since it's against a candidate he doesn't support.

Still, enough's enough: linking Howard Dean to Osama bin Laden isn't criticism, it's political porn. I hope every Democratic candidate loudly and unequivocally denounces this kind of crap and makes it clear that it has no place in the campaign. Today would be a good time to start, and I hope my candidate, Wes Clark, is the first out of the gate.

I agree.

But as with the 'hands-up' opening of the last debate, I have yet to see any candidates have the guts to raise their voices against the ad.

In the Calpundit comment thread, I apparently annoyed a number of people by pointing out that while this does NOT seem like something a particular candidate himself would do, it's hard to avoid noticing a) who directly benefits from such an ad (military service.. military service..) and b) who has a campaign staff with a history of extraordinary nastiness (we meet again, Mr. Lehane). Apparently, noting the difference between what I expect from a candidate and from his staff is equivalent to a full-throated accusation in the Calpundit commenters' minds. I disagree; I'm just observing the obvious and noting contrasts.

Regardless, the Kerry campaign (the other military candidate) has denied involvement, and I would welcome an actual denial from the Clark campaign.