East German politics in the U.S.

East Germans were famous for their honeypot traps used to ensnare targets in sexual liasons. The purpose was to diminish the individual and trap him or her into working for the foreign intelligence service. There's a suspicion of that in the Mark Foley and Rev. Ted Haggard scandals. In both, the timing was designed to affect the too-close-to-call race. In both, the events were several years in the past. So the moral outrage was delayed at best. And both are sexual liasons where it is unclear who was the aggressor. In Foley's case and in Haggard's there is no question that the actions were legal and consentual. What is debatable is whether Foley and Haggard were set up.

One that obviously not set up and wasn't even genuine was the accusation days before the election that Arnold Schwartzenegger groped a woman. Turns out she was not only ugly but the wife of a union official. The public didn't buy it.

Other ads and election techniques make you wonder about the veracity of the Democrats in this election. In the Missouri Senate race, Claire McCaskill is running ads with Wesley Clark and what is described as an Iraq war veteran identified as Josh Lansdale. A separate Landsdale ad is on Utube. After investigation by local Kansas City TV station, KMBC, it turns out Lansdale was found to be less than credible. The Dems must have thought so, too, as the McCaskill campaign which later cut him from the ads.
Hat tip: Michelle Malkin here