Over the years, U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller has made bipartisanship a hallmark of his behavior in Congress. He's been widely praised for his committment to bipartisan work as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

So how do the Republicans repay his constant goodwill and inclusiveness to them? By putting up a misleading, partisan attack ad:

Rebecca Fisher, communications director with the NRSC, said Friday her group had targeted Rockefeller because he is a Democrat "in a red state," where President Bush won in 2000 and 2004.

Fisher said the NRSC has also targeted two other Democratic senators up for re-election in 2008: Tom Harkin of Iowa and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

Rockefeller's spokeswoman Wendy Morigi had a strong response:

"West Virginians know where Senator Rockefeller stands on Iraq," Wendy Morigi, Rockefeller's spokeswoman, responded Monday. "As he has said for a long time, President Bush has badly mismanaged this war and America is paying a terrible price.

"Senator Rockefeller has said the troops have met every challenge they've been given," Morigi said. "It's the president and civilian leaders at the Pentagon whose strategy isn't working."

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Morigi said the senator believes the nation should shift resources to fight "the real war on terror, starting with Afghanistan and the many other countries where al-Qaida is gaining ground."

Republicans should continue to remind the public that Rockefeller has been critical of PResident Bush's conduct of the Iraq war. Unlike the Republican Party which is out of touch with Americans, Rockefeller's view is shared by the majority of the American people:

People Hate Bush And Hate The War

I don't know what it'll take for that to enter the bloodstream of Official Washington.

WASHINGTON - As the Democrat-controlled Congress and the White House clash over an Iraq spending bill, with President Bush vowing to veto it because it contains withdrawal deadlines, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that a solid majority of Americans side with the Democrats.

...

Yet the poll shows that 56 percent say they agree more with the Democrats in Congress who want to set a deadline for troop withdrawal, versus the 37 percent who say they agree with Bush that there shouldn't be a deadline.

What's more, 55 percent believe that victory in Iraq isn't possible. And 49 percent say the situation in Iraq has gotten worse in the last three months since Bush announced his so-called troop surge. Thirty-seven percent say the situation has stayed about the same, and just 12 percent think it has improved.

Why are the Republicans attacking Rockefeller? They think that he won't be able to mount a strong campaign because the health problems of his wife might distract him. How craven and callow can Republicans get? (Don't answer that: we've seen too much disgusting behavior from them to know.)

So I hope Senator Rockefeller remembers: his reaching out a hand to Republicans only results in them biting it.