A GOP ad that features a scantily clad blonde inviting senatorial candidate Harold Ford Jr. to “call me” is a new low for Tennessee politics, a UTC political science professor said Wednesday.

“I don’t think it would have occurred if the White House were not so scared they’re going to lose the U.S. Senate,” professor Bob Swansbrough said. “Sometimes when things get that close, the moral scruples get put in the closet.”

Meanwhile, the Corker for Senate campaign today "expressed gratification" that, according to news reports, the controversial Republican National Committee ad is now off the air.

Former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker said, “Within an hour of seeing the ad for the first time, our campaign publicly denounced it and issued a press release calling for it to be pulled. The ad is tacky, over the top and does not reflect the kind of campaign that we are running. Tennesseans deserve better and we are grateful the ad is no longer airing.”

However, the ad was still being shown on a Chattanooga TV station Wednesday night.

Professor Swansbrough said the GOP ad has racial overtones and is aimed at the small segment of voters who do not want to be represented by a black senator. If Rep. Ford, a Democrat, wins his race, he will be the first black elected to the U.S. Senate from a Southern state since Reconstruction.

Produced by an outside group that contracts with the Republican National Committee, according to press reports, the ad was not vetted either by the RNC or by Mr. Corker before it aired.

RNC spokesman Danny Diaz –
denying that the ad is racially offensive – earlier said the ad would continue to air.

This is not the first time that ads targeting opponents of Mr. Corker have been labeled unfair.

With the election less than two weeks away and Republicans in danger of losing their majorities in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, GOP strategists "are pulling out all the stops," Professor Swansbrough said.

The GOP’s blonde-floozy ad is designed to appeal to a small niche group who see race as the central issue in the senate race, Professor Swansbrough said.

“Knowing Bob Corker,I didn’t think that was his personal style,” he said. “But I’m sure he’s being advised that while there’s a lot of criticism of negative ads, they do work.”

Turnout will be central to the outcome of the Corker-Ford race, he said, so it’s not surprising political strategists are working hard to turn out every possible supporter.

The UTC professor said Rep. Ford has run a good campaign, which is why he is now running neck and neck with Mr. Corker in a state that GOP strategists thought they had locked up.

But Rep. Ford is going to have to fight even harder, now that national GOP strategists have pulled money out of Ohio and are using it to run attack ads designed to attack Rep. Ford and boost Mr. Corker’s chances in Tennessee, the professor said.

“For some folks, that repeated, drummed-in message is effective,” he said.

Current polls show that the race has tightened, he said, which he said indicates that former supporters of one of Mr. Corker’s primary opponents, conservative Congressman Ed Bryant, are now supporting the Chattanooga Republican.