Hundreds of times in the past three weeks, cable television viewers in Sterling Heights, Mich., have been the exclusive audience for two of the roughest ads of the political season.

One links Barack Obama to ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, whose career unraveled in scandal. The other features Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.

The ads, from a political action committee not connected to John McCain's presidential campaign, are running only in Macomb County, largely populated by white, unionized auto workers -- once considered "Reagan Democrats" -- whose votes could help determine which candidate wins Michigan, a key state.

It reflects the unusual nature of this year's more potentially pernicious political attacks: They are not coming with the loud cannon blast of the type launched by the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" against Sen. John Kerry in 2004, but, rather, narrowly targeted shots from smaller groups.

In Obama's case, the messages have sought to paint him as foreign, such as the chain e-mail messages sent to Jewish areas of Florida, suburban Philadelphia and other swing states that portray Obama as Muslim -- even though he is Christian. This week, a hate group calling itself the League of American Patriots distributed 8,000 flyers to homes in Roxbury in northern New Jersey, portraying Obama as Osama bin Laden and including language that was derisive of blacks. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, said the fliers were the first overtly racist tracts of their kind this election season.

The Michigan ads come from a group called Freedom's Defense Fund, a political action committee based in Washington. The ads have stood out because of the group's connections -- including to its paid consultant, Jerome Corsi, the author of the highly negative, largely discredited biography of Obama, "Obama Nation" -- and what critics say are their racial overtones.

"That's all they are -- race oriented," said Ed Bruly, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Macomb. "I think some people will be affected by it, others will see it for what it is."

WOMEN CATCHING UP IN CAMPAIGN GIVING

Women have long lagged behind men when it comes to contributing to political campaigns, but they are making up ground this year.

A study by the women's Campaign Forum Foundation found that U.S. women have already given more than $109 million to the two major party presidential candidates -- three times the amount they contributed eight years ago.

Of the 2008 total, which includes contributions through the end of July, women gave more to Obama than to McCain, the finance data said. However, overall, women accounted for just 36 percent of the donations to both candidates.

NEWS SERVICES