Dallas County Democratic Party Chairwoman Becky Greenwald is grabbing onto Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s (Ill.) coattails and hoping to ride them to victory over Rep. Tom Latham (R) in the competitively drawn 4th district.

Greenwald’s timeout on television advertising came to a halt Wednesday night with a 60-second spot that harnessed the anti- Republican sentiment sweeping the country by painting Latham as a lackey of President Bush who has supported the president 94 percent of the time. The ad emphasized the point further by transposing a picture of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) speaking to Bush with one of Latham.

The commercial ran just before Obama’s 30-minute infomercial that aired on several networks simultaneously. According to the Greenwald campaign, the television spot was set to air on the NBC and CBS affiliates in the Des Moines and Mason City media markets.

Latham spokesman James Carstensen said his boss was unruffled by the ad because its message will likely be lost on voters since it will only air once.

“According to principles in marketing, I think you have to see an ad an average of three times before the message starts to sink in,” he said. “She’s been off the air for 24 days [and now] comes back for one 60-second ad that will run once.”

Carstensen said Latham will not buy airtime to counter the ad.

Right to Life Group Accuses Loebsack Foe

Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R), who is challenging freshman Rep. Dave Loebsack (D), has accused the Iowa Right to Life Coalition of mischarecterizing her position on abortion.

Miller-Meeks, an ophthalmologist, said the group has said she supports abortion rights when in fact she does not.

According to the Des Moines Register, the coalition recently distributed a newsletter to members criticizing Miller-Meeks for supporting abortion rights and claimed her public opposition to abortion was nothing more than political pandering to garner votes.

The newsletter states: “The ‘Great Pretender Award’ goes to Miller-Meeks, who says on her Web site, ‘I believe in the sanctity of life at both ends of the spectrum.’ That would lead one to believe that she’s pro-life, right? Wrong!”

It continues: “Miller-Meeks is pro- abortion and believes in birth control education over abstinence-only. … Miller-Meeks needs an Oscar, not a seat in Congress.”

The impetus for the accusation stems from the eye surgeon refusing to complete the Coalition’s National Right to Life survey that would detail her position on issues like abortion, stem cell research and other reproductive rights issues. Other Republicans running for Congress have completed the survey.

Kim Lehman, the coalition’s executive director, said her group would retract the claim if the doctor completed her group’s survey. Miller-Meeks refuses to fill out their form, said her communications director, Eric Woolsonrast.