The AP picks up the Santorum Smear ad

Here it is at the Washington Post:

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Claims of trespassing at a private home and accusations of negative campaigning mark the latest installment of the fierce election-year fight between Republican Sen. Rick Santorum and Democratic challenger Bob Casey.

The charges and countercharges in the Pennsylvania Senate race also have revived questions about where Santorum, his wife and six children live _ a three-bedroom, 2,100-square-foot home in Penn Hills., Pa., or a house in Leesburg, Va., that's more than 5,000 square feet.

Santorum launched radio ads on Monday that contend that a Casey operative admitted to "trespassing into the Santorum's home in Penn Hills, (Pa.) peering into the windows looking for campaign dirt."

The ad is based on a report by KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh.

In the television report, Ed Vecchio, whose wife is a local Democratic Party leader in Penn Hills, said he had a right to contest Santorum's votes from last week's primary because, "He doesn't live here. The house he's registered to vote out of, is vacant, no curtains, furniture, nothing in there."

Vecchio said he never looked into the windows of Santorum's home.

The Casey campaign said Vecchio does not work for them and denied that anyone from the campaign trespassed at the house. They also accused the Santorum campaign of trying to shift attention from the fact that Santorum primarily lives with his family in Virginia.

"Santorum should take his deliberately untrue attack ad off the air," said Larry Smar, a Casey campaign spokesman, of the commercials that are airing in Pittsburgh.

Virginia Davis, a Santorum campaign spokeswoman, accused the Casey campaign of negative tactics.

"The people of Pennsylvania deserve to know that Bob Casey is up to the same negative, slash and trash tactics once again," Davis said.

More of a he said/he said article so popular amongst today's "objective" journalists. Unfortunately, it also neglects to look at whether the charges are actually true. Was there trespassing on the Santorum property? If there was, was a Casey operative involved? All the AP does is to let each side speak for itself. Good going. He said/He said.

Here, let me repost the smeariest part of the ad copy again:

Now we know what Casey meant. According to a KDKA investigative report, a Casey operative admitted to trespassing at the Santorum’s home in Penn Hills. Peering into the windows looking for campaign dirt. But we shouldn’t be surprised. Casey has a long history of slinging mud.

Of course there's nothing in the KDKA report to suggest that a "Casey operative" "admitted" to anything.

And of course there's the text book projection:

Casey has a long history of slinging mud.

If there's mud hear, it's dripping off of the junior Senator from Virginia.