Richard Moore needs a bomb to blow up Bev Perdue’s lead. But the problem with a bomb is that it can go off in your hands. That appears to be what happened with his Ku Klux Klan ad.

The ad was a reach to start with. When voters hear, in effect, that Perdue voted with the KKK, they’re skeptical. They figure there is something more to the story.

And Perdue’s campaign was ready. They had done their research on this one. The campaign had responses up quickly from Harvey Gantt and Alma Adams, head of the Legislative Black Caucus. Somebody should get a gold star.

Now somebody will tell me Perdue is ahead because of her final-weeks conversion to a positive campaign. I still doubt it. She gave Moore an opening, but he didn’t take it. Now he has overreached. And he’s paying for never having a strong positive message of his own.

Also, Perdue’s ads attack Moore for his negative campaign. And compared him to Jesse Helms. That’s not positive.

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