Dem's Attack Ad Misspells Massachusetts

The bite of an attack ad by Democrat Martha Coakley against her Republican rival in the race to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat might have been blunted by an embarrassing gaffe: the ad's attribution spells their home state as "Massachusettes," the Boston Globe reports. "It has been corrected," was the terse comment of her campaign spokesman.

The ad itself accuses Republican Scott Brown of denying emergency compensation to rape victims—a claim disputed by Brown's daughters today. Coakley's "attack on my dad is completely inaccurate and misleading and I’m offended. My dad would always stand up for the rights and needs of rape victims," Ayla Brown, 21, told reporters. Brown also issued a video response in which he says that Coakley has "gone too far"—but resists making fun of her campaign's spelling. (More Scott Brown stories.)