TV station rejects state GOP ad

At least one North Carolina TV station is refusing to air the N.C. Republican Party's ad about Sen. Barack Obama's former minister.

A spokesman for WRAL-TV in Raleigh said the station will not show the ad. A spokesman for another Triangle station, WTVD, said it had not been asked to air the ad but would have reservations about doing so.

The ad points out that Democratic gubernatorial candidates Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore have endorsed Obama. It calls Obama too "extreme" because of his ties to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and implies that Obama heard Wright's controversial sermons.

The state GOP made a splash Wednesday when it rolled out the ad for reporters and the public. The Republican National Committee and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain have condemned the ad.

Meanwhile, national Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said McCain should lead his party in protesting the ad.

In an e-mail message to supporters, Dean said if McCain were serious he should have no problem making sure the ad never runs.

"This is a test of leadership for John McCain," Dean said. "If he can't pick up the phone and make members of his own party stop airing a television ad he claims to oppose, how can he lead our country through an economic crisis or the war in Iraq?"

He said McCain should discipline state GOP chairwoman Linda Daves for producing the ad.

The state Republicans hoped the ad would help them raise money. But it also has become the focus of a fund-raising effort by state Democrats.

Jerry Meek, chairman of the N.C. Democratic Party, has sent out a letter to North Carolina Democrats saying the ad shows "just how out of touch North Carolina Republicans truly are."

"This much is clear: North Carolina Republicans will say anything and do anything to win," Meek writes.

Meek tells Democrats that they need to raise money to "prepare us for the challenges ahead." He asks them to send a contribution of $50, $25 or $15.