If you ever wondered whether Governor Pat Quinn would do whatever it takes to win re-election, all you need to do is look at his latest TV ad.

The spot is perhaps the most misleading TV advertisement of the season so far, but it packs quite a wallop. Quinn cannily "accuses" his Democratic primary opponent, Comptroller Dan Hynes, of having "signed off on every single state check."

"Now Hynes claims he'll cut the budget line by line, but as comptroller for 12 years he signed off on every single state check," the Quinn ad alleges.

The Quinn campaign claimed after the ad aired that they were trying to say that Hynes' statutory check-signing duties meant he ought to know what the budget is all about already and that Hynes shouldn't need to go over the budget line by line after he's elected to figure out where to cut waste and over-spending.

While the Quinn campaign's explanation for why they worded the attack ad the way they did is an interesting afterthought, if you watch the spot carefully you'll see that what it's really trying to say is Hynes is somehow responsible for the mess the state is in.

Preliminary plans to lay off 792 Iowa state employees show that while some would be laid off in November and December, the bulk would be laid off in early January.

Layoffs have been proposed by 15 of the 36 state agencies as an element of their plan to implement a 10-percent across-the-board budget cut ordered by Governor Chet Culver in October.

The bulk of layoffs would occur in the Department of Corrections under a plan not yet approved by Culver. An initial plan called for 515 layoffs in corrections. The latest plan shows 377 layoffs would occur on Janurary 1, 4, or 7.

A few weeks ago, I asked a top Republican what his party's plan was in the ongoing war over campaign-finance reform.

"We are not for some sham ethics bill," the official said, then added with tongue slightly in cheek, "We stand with the reformers, until they capitulate, then I'm not sure where we stand, but I'll let you know."

The Republicans are badly outnumbered in both the Illinois House and Senate, they don't raise as much money as the Democrats, their party has been on the outs with voters since Governor George Ryan went down in flames and President George W. Bush alienated most of the state.

So the Republicans did the politically smart thing and eagerly professed their undying love for reform and pledged their never-ending loyalty to those plucky reformers -- all the while using the reform issue and the reform groups as a partisan sledgehammer against the Democrats. It was a smart political play.

The irony was clear. Earlier this month, Michael D. Elliott came in third place by one vote in the Third Ward primary for Davenport City Council.

Elliott ran for Scott County Auditor - the election administrator for the county - in 2008 on a platform that included election transparency and integrity, including a push for post-election audits. The recount he requested in the city primary gave him the opportunity to test the system.

The recount returned the same results, and Elliott said by e-mail that he was satisfied with the policies and procedures put in place by Auditor Roxanna Mortiz, who defeated him and Steve Ahrens last year: "The process was thorough and documented. Obviously the counts came out correctly. I was also there at one of the precincts to watch the poll be closed, so I pretty much got to see the entire process in action. I am very confident that the system works as it should. ... Moritz was very open and patient and did an excellent job throughout this small election. I'd say it was a good trial before our larger municipal election" next week.