Playboy Party Jab Could Hurt GOP's Senatorial Hopes

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 26, 2006 — -- One of the fiercest fights this election cycle is taking place in Tennessee, where a bitter contest that hints of sex and allegations of racism may determine control of the Senate.

In this race, Bob Corker should be coasting. He's a Republican running in a conservative red state that was carried twice by President Bush, so his prospects should be quite good.

But his Democratic opponent, Rep. Harold Ford, has proved to be a more adept campaigner and has insinuated at every stop that Corker's undeniable wealth includes ill-gotten gains.

Ford is also tying the Republican to the unpopular war in Iraq, and the president. Said Ford, "I'm running as an American who wants to help provide better leadership in Washington."

Corker plays up both Ford's youth (Ford is 36), and the fact that the congressman, who is in turn the son of a congressman, has spent much of his life in Washington.

"I truly believe that our country faces the most difficult issues we've faced in my adult lifetime," Corker tells audiences while campaigning, adding, "What people really want in the United States Senate is somebody who thinks like they think."

But Ford is hard to pigeonhole. He has a moderate to conservative voting record: pro guns, pro Bible, against same-sex marriage. Those positions have made it hard for Corker to go after Ford in the traditional way.

"When this race first started, Harold Ford didn't have a chance," said self-professed Democrat Billy G. Smith in Cookville, Tenn.. "But Harold Ford's in this race now."

So faced with the loss of a must-win Senate seat to maintain their control, the Republicans have shifted away from Ford's politics in their ads to his persona.

There's a whole Web site now, named Fancy Ford that is produced and directed by Republicans intent on undermining Ford by going after his personal style. There are references to his taste for expensive suits, lavish parties and expensive cigars. The belief is they will not go down well in parts of rural Tennessee.