Chris Shays: I desperately approve of this message!

"Even though I voted for everything that is ruining this country right now, I am the candidate of hope AND straight talk... After 20 years in the House, vote for me for real change! I am candidate Chris Shays and I desperately approve of this message!"

Are you buying this? Scarce has the video up at MLN and isn't buying a word of it:

Christopher Shays is Wrong For America

Shays, co-chair of McCain campaign, claims "straight talk" in new ad but neglects to mention his support of Bush-McCain policies and 90% partisan GOP voting record on close House votes.

And Shays is not the only faux moderate in congress to use Obama's image in his ads in a brazen atempt to manipulate. Gordon Smith is also using it in Oregon, believing the voters are that gullible. I've included one such ad below.

Greg Sargent over at TPM gives his take on "Both Ways" Shays new ad:

Another fun thing about this ad is that Shays actually associates himself with both Obama and McCain, saying that he possesses "the hopefulness of Obama" and "the straight talk of McCain." Talk about fence sitting...

Brad Haynes over at the Wall Street Journal writes:

Another Republican incumbent running to keep his seat in Congress is linking himself to both Barack Obama and John McCain in a television ad.

While Politico.com writes:

Shays=Obama+McCain?

The last Republican congressman in New England, Chris Shays, has an unusual ad up that opens with an image of the Democratic nominee.

Shays, it says, combines the "hopefulness" of Obama and the "straight talk" of McCain.

Chris Shays is about to get slapped around by Jim Himes and Barack Obama the same way Jeff Merkely and Barack Obama slapped around Gordon Smith when he tried to tie himself to the Obama campaign.

You can run, Chris Shays... But you can't hide: