THE THIRD RAIL HAS NO JUICE::

Carnahan numbers dip in Missouri race (Donald Lambro, 10/18/02, THE WASHINGTON TIMES)

Sen. Jean Carnahan of Missouri is falling in the polls, despite a barrage of Democratic TV ads against her Republican challenger for backing personal Social Security investment accounts.

Mrs. Carnahan's campaign has been running the ads throughout the state for the past three weeks, charging that her opponent, Jim Talent, wants to privatize the Social Security system. But the latest polls suggest that the ads have not been helping her; the former four-term congressman has surged into the lead by 6.5 percentage points. [...]

Mr. Talent has been airing a counteroffensive ad that says, "Jean Carnahan is attacking Jim Talent and scaring seniors once again." After listing bills he co-authored to help seniors, such as a patients' bill of rights and a prescription-drug benefit plan, the ad says, "So tell Jean Carnahan: Spend less time scaring seniors and more time working for them."

Republicans really need to make this issue work for them because the Democrats are never going to stop using it. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 18, 2002 7:20 PM