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You can tell that the presidential race in the US is hotting up and getting rather desperate when stories like this one appear.

The Democrats at the Tennessee campaign office of Craig Fitzhugh have been accused of sending out anti-Bush promotional flyers that mock disabled children.

The flyers in question are astonishing. They feature a picture of George W. Bush's face superimposed onto the head of a disabled child competing in the Special Olympics. The text alongside the picture reads:

"Voting for Bush Is Like Running In The Special Olympics:
Even If You Win, You're Still Retarded."

See the picture and condemnation on the website of the .

The Republican party were also quick to condemn it and to point out that this is the same office that the local John Kerry campaign for Tennessee is based. The website carries further condemnation from Tennessee Republican Dave Dahl.

But surely Democrat spin doctors wouldn't sanction a piece of political dynamite such as this just before election time? Well, they any claims that this came from their office.

Randy Button, the Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman described it as a dirty tricks campaign from "shady Republican operatives" concluding that their actions are "reminiscent of the Nixon-era Watergate burglaries"

The Democrats have called on the District Attorney to get involved and find out who produced this material.