Six degrees of Rovination

Just skimming this report about the exit of Bush Advisor Karl Rove--and his lamentable influence on politics, it was funny to see a reference to the Corker/Ford contest in 2006.

Rove has served as a mentor to several Republican strategists whose careers have a long way to go. Some have already made a name for themselves. Scott Howell, who once worked for Rove's direct-marketing firm in Texas, achieved a certain measure of infamy late in the 2006 campaign with an ad targeting Democrat Harold Ford Jr., who was running for a Senate seat in Tennessee. Critics said it played on racial fears about white women and black men, but it may have played a role in tipping that race toward Republican Bob Corker.

Apparently, the Ford/playboy/swinger ad will replace the "infamous" Willie Horton Ad as "Exhibit One" of cover (shoot, Overt!) Republican Racism.