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Quote:  “Harold, call me.”  Republican National Committee attack ad against Senate candidate Harold Ford of Tennessee.

Figure of Speech:  apostrophe.  From the Greek, meaning “turn away from.”

“I met Harold at the Playboy party!” squeals a bare-shouldered blond actress, who winks and tells Ford to call her.  It’s a rather dopey version of an apostrophe, a figure that switches audiences.  Usually, the apostrophe is supposed to convey deep emotion, but we’ll let sleaze substitute for pathos.

Ford, who’s single, did in fact attend a Playboy Superbowl party in Ft. Lauderdale last year, along with 3,000 other people.  So this is the worst scandal the GOP can come up with?  Or are some Tennesseans still shocked by the prospect of miscegenation?  (Ford is black.  The ad bimbo is white.)

Ford says, “You know your opponent is scared when his main opposition against you is, ‘My opponent likes girls.’” At any rate, it’s a strange time for Republicans to accuse someone of heterosexuality. 

To Figaro’s disappointment, the GOP pulled the ad.

Snappy Answer:  “Call you what?”