The former Governor, who has campaigned in this state for two years, once again presented himself as above dirty campaigning - and as the choice who could be trusted to return power to the states.

That way, the campaigns can try to immunize themselves from charges of dirty campaigning.

"It's an attack ad against dirty campaigning," Professor Jamieson said in a recent telephone interview.

In 2004, Pendleton lost his reelection by 123 votes, who was the target of negative mailers that Noemi Pendleton called "dirty campaigning".

It's not dirty campaigning, because he's been talking about my record for a half a - half a year here - 11 months here.

Several incidents occurred during advanced polling on the weekend of November 4-5, 2006, leading to Perruzza and Li Preti accusing one another of dirty campaigning and the breaking of numerous election and criminal laws.

Sensitive to charges of dirty campaigning made by some in the audience, Mr. Clinton insisted that his charge was not "mudslinging but fact-slinging."

Like the legitimate candidates, he fired salvos at his opposition and practiced dirty campaigning.

Voters here elected State Senator Marc Morial to be their mayor in a run-off election on Saturday, apparently punishing his opponent for what they considered dirty campaigning.