Alan Greenblatt is a GOVERNING correspondent.
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Both the McCain and Obama campaigns have "Truth Squads" in most if not all states, made up of state and local officials on the ground who can rebut claims and ads put forward by the other side. These are mostly lawmakers but apparently both sides have Truth Squads that include people in prosecutorial office, such as state attorneys general.
This has led to a kerfluffle in Missouri that in turn is leading to heated blog posts at places such as Drudge and DailyKos. Here's a bit from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Obama's Missouri Truth Squad members include St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer and St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, among others.
The inclusion of such officials has led to Gov. Matt Blunt, among other Republicans, to accuse the Obama camp of planning "to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics."
That tack was repeated in a conference call Saturday, where Republican National Committee deputy chairman Frank Donatelli said that the issue was the inclusion of law-enforcement officials on Obama's squad. He called for Joyce, McCulloch, et al to step down.
In a statement Saturday (issued from the governor's office), Blunt went further and contended that the state Obama campaign and its allies, including U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill "have attached the stench of police state tactics..."
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