On Sept. 3, a political advertisement appeared in the Sun Journal, and I write to take issue with its content. The ad appeared to be one against drunken driving. It said, “For your family and for mine, don’t drive drunk; Rob Cameron Maine Senate.” The ad was paid for by the Cameron for Senate Committee.

Frankly, I was surprised that Rob Cameron’s campaign would stoop to that level of politics. I thought that he was a cut above most of the Republican politicians, particularly on the national level, who seem to rely on personal attack as their principal campaign strategy. I actually voted for Mr. Cameron in a previous election; it won’t happen again, however.

People make mistakes. Mr. Cameron’s opponent made a mistake. He didn’t hire a slick lawyer to avoid the consequences; he accepted responsibility for his behavior, and, to my knowledge, has not repeated the behavior a second time.

Nationally, this has been a very mean-spirited campaign, one that is turning many people off. Both parties can share the blame for that. I’d like to think that we Maine folks can be more civil than the rest of the country. Ads like Cameron’s don’t lend credence to what I’d like to think, however.

Did not President Bush make the same mistake? In Maine? Threatening “your family and mine”? Fortunately, that mistake was not fatal for anyone. His mistake in Iraq, however, has been fatal for over 1,200 “coalition” soldiers and over 11,000 Iraqi civilians.

Walter A. Buotte, Rumford