CLIENT: Faircloth for Senate

EXPLANATION: In North Carolina, wealthy, charming, 45-year-old Democratic attorney John Edwards launched a shockingly strong challenge to one-term incumbent GOP Senator Lauch Faircloth. Struggling to find an issue to use against his moderate opponent, the Faircloth reelection campaign dumped its pollster and brought on board legendary consultant Arthur Finklestein, known for demonizing "liberals." Since then, Faircloth has made huge efforts to link Edwards and the president, calling them "two tobacco-taxing lawyers who have a habit of stretching the truth." In the closing weeks of the campaign, Faircloth came under a great deal of fire for waxing so negative. Some say the ad, which played only once (supposedly during an episode of Fox News Network's The O'Reilly Factor, but sources are sketchy), went over the line.