National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Ok.) told PolitickerKY.com that Kentucky may play well on Nov. 4 for Congressional Republicans in part because of the effect Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) may have down the ballot, even as speculation abounds about the negative electoral climate for Republicans.

Cole is in Kentucky today for an event benefitting the campaign of state Sen. Brett Guthrie (R-Bowling Green), who is seeking the open 2nd Congressional District seat. The NRCC chair particularly said Obama could negatively impact state Sen. David Boswell's (D-Owensboro) effort against Guthrie,though Boswell's campaign charged associations with the current administration were damaging to Guthrie in response.

"We certainly don't think that Senator Obama is going to run very well in the state and I think it's going to give an extra advantage to most of our congressional candidates," said Cole in a phone interview today.

"It really does vary state by state," Cole added of Obama's impact. "He just doesn't sell very well in conservative areas. There is a band of states that Obama is unlikely to do well in and is actually harmful down ballot to Democratic candidates. I think Kentucky is one of those states."

Cole speculated that Obama and other Democrats could be particularly cumbersome to Boswell's (D-Owensboro) bid to win the open 2nd District seat against state Sen. Brett Guthrie (R-Bowling Green). That seat is open given the forthcoming retirement of U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis (R-Cecilia).

In 2004, the 2nd district gave President Bush his largest margin of victory of any of the Commonwealth's 6 congressional districts and Obama polls significantly behind in the western Kentucky region of which much of the 2nd is comprised.

Boswell has parried inquiries about Obama in the past, and his recent commercials do not tout his party affiliation, instead referencing his anti-abortion and pro-gun positions.

"We have a lot of Democrats who are busy in conservative areas trying to run away from both their nominee and their party, and I think Boswell is in that position," said Cole.

Guthrie has tried to turn Boswell's party label into a liability on a number of occasions. At a debate in Bowling Green, the Republican queried how Boswell would vote for speaker, noting current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) held a different position on abortion than the anti-abortion Boswell.

Boswell answered that question by saying he would "vote against" Pelosi on "particular issues" where the two disagreed.

Cole, however, kept up the attack from this angle.

"You're not a more-conservative democrat if you're running with Barack Obama and you're going to vote for Nancy Pelosi with your very first vote," said Cole, rejecting the idea that Boswell could frame himself as a conservative. "Look at who he is choosing to run with in Washington, D.C."

"If you think Nancy Pelosi represents Kentucky values, then you probably ought to vote for him," Cole continued. "If you think that this sort of far-left view of the world that she represent is the wrong thing and you've got a guy like Brett Guthrie who is a West Point grad, a proven legislator - clearly an emerging leader in Kentucky with a great future in front of him - I think the choice is pretty clear."

All told, Cole sounded a note of confidence in Guthrie's ability to hold the seat for Republicans.

"We think we will hold on to Ron Lewis' seat and do it by a sizeable margin," said Cole.

The Boswell camp plays the Cheney card

Boswell's campaign, however, sought to turn the tables on Cole's logic about fellow party members and their impact on the 2nd District race.

"Since the liar, liar argument has failed it now appears that Guthrie - who has a failed record and vision for Kentucky families - would now like to play guilt by association," said Mark Riddle, Boswell's senior strategist and media advisor, in a statement e-mailed to PolitickerKY.com." Fine: The Bush-Cheney-Guthrie policies have led America into a national economic crises, record debt, record high gas prices, and the Bush-Cheney-Guthrie team would like to put Social Security money into the stock market."

Guthrie denied he was interested in privatizing social security during a debate in Elizabethtown last month, though the idea was pushed by President Bush and Vice President Cheney earlier in their term.

Associating Guthrie with Cheney has been a tactic wielded by the Boswell camp since the Democrat won his party's nomination in late May. Cheney appeared at a March fundraiser on Guthrie's behalf. In responding to Cole's remarks, that jab was followed by a swing at Guthrie on trade policy - the issue targeted in ads attacking Guthrie from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

 "No amount of false attacks can hide the fact that Guthrie supports NAFTA and the shipping of American jobs overseas - a practice he preaches about all over the district," said Riddle.

"It was Guthrie who stood with Dick Cheney and accepted his money," he continued. "Either Guthrie is a hypocrite or a fool. With regards to Tom Cole: he is part of the gang that has failed America and is a captain of a sinking ship. Period. Paragraph."

Riddle also reiterated the positions Boswell has pushed in his campaign advertising on gun rights and abortion.

"David Boswell has a strong record of being pro-life, pro-second Amendment and believes we need more American jobs," concluded Riddle. "David Boswell is focused on Kentucky and will always do the right thing for Kentucky families."

Updated, 11:01pm: In response to the comments from the Boswell campaign, Guthrie's camp issued a statement painting the Democrat as a recipient of funds from "liberal" members of Congress.

"We'll let the people decide if they approve of David Boswell claiming to be a conservative on the one hand while taking money from liberals Charlie Rangel [D-N.Y.] and Barney Frank [D-Mass.] on the other," said Guthrie's campaign manager, Brian Smith.