Vitter Rides High on Anti-Obama Sentiment

You might think an acknowledged client of a Washington prostitute would have a tough time being reelected to the US Senate. But you’d be wrong, the New York Times reports. David Vitter of Louisiana appears to be a strong favorite in his 2010 bid, and he owes it all to one man. “Along comes Obama,” says one local analyst, “and it changes everything.”

The president is drastically unpopular in Louisiana—he won just 14% of the white vote there. Before Vitter's Democratic opponent, Charlie Melancon, even announced he was running, the incumbent ran ads that simply said, “Melancon backs Obama presidency.” Republicans have already tried the tactic in one state senate election, nearly upsetting favored Democrat Norby Chambert. “We knew,” says Chambert, “that the president was going to be a cross we had to bear.” (More David Vitter stories.)