The attack on Kratovil is part of what some regard as perhaps the most successful Republican tactic thus far in the (very young) Barack Obama era: making Pelosi the prime target of partisan attacks, rather than the popular Democratic president.

Pelosi's poll numbers have fallen over the past few months, and her approval ratings are even lower than congressional Democrats as a group. However, as a general rule, tying members of Congress to their party's leader in the House has had, at best, limited success over the years.

In the 1980s, Republicans tried to make portly House Speaker Tip O'Neill a symbol of bloated, liberal Democratic government. TV attack ads featured an actor impersonating the old-time Irish pol from the Boston area. Democrats, in the 1990s, returned the favor, using Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich as a punching bag in congressional campaigns.

One problem with that tactic, at least in the past: many voters don't know (or perhaps care) who the speaker is.

In 2008, the national parties and special-interest groups poured more than $3 million into the First District, which includes the entire Eastern Shore and jumps the Bay to take in a significant portion of Western Shore counties.

Kratovil, who won last year by the skin of his teeth, is facing a rematch with Republican State Sen. Andy Harris of Baltimore County, who figures to get considerably more support from the national Republican Party than he did last time.

The Republican ads against Kratovil, slated to begin airing Thursday on Salisbury's WBOC-TV, aren't the first TV commercials of the 2010 campaign in the district, already among the most hotly contested in the nation.

The drug industry fired the opening round a week ago, a pro-Kratovil TV ad that is running more often than the Republican one (both buys are moderately heavy, meaning they will likely be seen by many voters).

The industry ad praises Kratovil for voting earlier this year to expand health care coverage for children in Maryland whose families lack insurance.

Drug manufacturers, who fought to kill health reform in 1994, are taking a strikingly different tack this time. They are siding with those who favor overhauling the system, hoping that as a result they'll gain more leverage over the key issue (for them and everyone else) of prescription prices.

"We are committed to helping build greater consensus and support for reform that ensures all Americans have access to high-quality and affordable health care coverage," said Ken Johnson, a senior vice president for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, whose group sponsored the pro-Kratovil spot as part of a broader national campaign.

And to think that Election Day is just 523 days away!