The RNC ad targeting Harold Ford continues to spur some interesting responses. I've heard at least one staunch Republican agree that it's racist; my reaction was in line with a buddy's, who felt they missed an opportunity to torpedo Ford's numbers among men. Our imaginary attack ad:

Harold Ford Jr. partied with Playboy bunnies at the Super Bowl in Jacksonville. Then he offered an evasive denial, saying he had never been to the Playboy Mansion.

There's a scandal all right, but it's not what he did. It's that he's not bragging about what he did. What kind of red-blooded single American man denies partying with Playboy bunnies? Millions of American men will never get that opportunity. And Harold Ford acts like it never happened.

Harold Ford: I mean, really, what the hell?

On a slightly more serious note, I note that the various goofballs interviewed in the faux man-on-the-street interviews offer several criticisms of Ford: That he's just a pretty face, that he respects the privacy rights of terrorists, that he thinks hunters have too many guns, that he supports the death tax, that he partied with Playboy bunnies, and that he took money from porn producers.

The response from Ford's allies: The ad is racist!

Of course they argue that. The problem is, in that all-too-predictable response, they do nothing to refute the contention that Harold Ford is just a pretty face, that he respects the privacy rights of terrorists, that he thinks hunters have too many guns, that he supports the death tax, that he partied with Playboy bunnies, and that he took money from porn producers...

The Second Amendment-rights issue helped cost Ford the vote of Glenn Reynolds; I wonder how many other Tennesseans will be paying particular attention to that line in that ad...