Oregon Public Broadcasting

Senator Barack Obama's campaign has responded to an ad running for Republican Sen. Gordon Smith. As April Baer reports, there may be less to the Senators' relationship than the Smith campaign is letting on.

In recent days, Gordon Smith's re-election campaign has run an ad suggesting a strong working relationship with Barack Obama.

Ad Audio:  "Who says Gordon Smith helped lead the fight for better gas mileage and a cleaner ewnvironment? Barack Obama. He joined Gordon...."

Except Obama never exactly said that.

It's true that Smith and Obama were two of the eight co-sponsors on a 2006 bill that would have toughened fuel economy standards.  But the measure died in the Senate Finance Committee.

The Obama campaign has released a statement saying that he supports Smith's rival, Democrat Jeff Merkley, in this year's Senate race.

The Merkley campaign also notes Smith has voted repeatedly in the past for Bush administration energy policies.

When asked for comment, a spokeswoman for Gordon Smith's campaign called it a sad commentary that an ad about crossing the aisle is controversial.