By Associated Press & Andrea Calcagno October 13, 2008
 
MEDFORD, Ore. -- Republican Sen. Gordon Smith and Democratic House Speaker Jeff Merkley did not quite agree to drop their onslaught of negative ads.
 
But in their final televised debate, Smith chided a national Republican group for running one that makes fun of Merkley for the way he ate a hot dog.
 
Smith said it was wrong for the National Republican Senatorial Committee to run the ad, which shows video of Merkley continuing to eat a hot dog while trying to answer a question at a campaign stop.
 
Merkley responded with a quip that Smith got one thing right: He really does love hot dogs.
 
With this considered a difficult year for Republicans, Smith noted that he broke with President Bush on the Iraq war, praised President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal for building hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River and repeatedly talked about his close working relationship with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden.
 
Merkley, however, said Smith voted with the Bush administration 90 percent of the time, and that Oregonians need to vote for a Democrat if they want a break from the policies of the last eight years.
 
Smith voted in favor of President Bush's bailout plan, and Jeff Merkley criticized Smith for doing so.
 
"This is a tool that securitizes the American people. They are in the first position, and they'll get their money back, and what we are trying to do is unlock the credit markets," says Smith.
 
"This was a blank check, and its first important to understand this entire meltdown occurred because the deregulation of the Bush administration got rid of fair rules in mortgages and then ended oversight of Wall Street," says Merkley.