Politics in brief

TEXAS

Candidate seeksto link foe to RatherA Texas congressional candidate has launched a television campaign ad that tries to link his opponent to CBS news anchor Dan Rather. The ad for Louie Gohmert, the Republican candidate in a race to unseat Democratic incumbent Representative Max Sandlin, is believed to be the first to exploit the debacle stemming from a CBS report on President Bush's National Guard service. "Seen Max Sandlin's negative ads?" a narrator says in the ad, while video clips of Sandlin at a microphone and a snowy television screen are shown. "They've got more holes than a CBS News story by Dan Rather," the narrator continues. The ad switches to a shot of a newspaper clipping on Rather's apology Monday for relying on questionable documents to support a Sept. 8 "60 Minutes" story that cited documents purported to be from one of Bush's commanders in the Texas Air National Guard. (AP)

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Commission keepsNader on ballotCONCORD -- The state Ballot Law Commission voted 5-0 yesterday to keep independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the Nov. 2 ballot, rejecting a Democratic challenge to hundreds of petitions. President Bush narrowly won New Hampshire over Democrat Al Gore in 2000, giving Bush his only victory in the Northeast. Emily Rice, who represented the state Democratic Party, argued that Nader's campaign workers collected petition signatures through widespread fraud and deceit. She said many people were misled about what they were signing, including by signature collectors who hid Nader's name on forms or didn't reveal their political affiliation. (AP)