Allen West Takes the Gloves Off in Blistering New Attack Ad About Opponent's Drunken Bar Fight

Allen West has been very candid this week. At the beginning of it, he criticized Obama's U.N. speech, saying the president needed to say "The Angel of Death in the form of an American Bald Eagle will visit you and wreak havoc and destruction upon your existence.” But that might have just been a warm up for a new attack ad the Florida congressman just releases against his opponent in Florida.

"Feb. 16, 2003, Fort Hood, Texas: Lt. Col. Allen West had just received deployment orders, and prepares his men to go to war," the ad begins. Then it turns to what his opponent was doing the same day: "That night, South Beach, Miami: Patrick Murphy is thrown out of a club for fighting, covered in alcohol, and unable to stand. Murphy then confronts and verbally assaults a police officer. Patrick Murphy was arrested and taken to jail."

Ouch:

Business Insider explains that Murphy's incident occurred when he was 19 in college:

Murphy was a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Miami when he was arrested on charges of disorderly intoxication and possessing a fake driver license. In an interview with The Palm Beach Post,Murphy called it the "biggest mistake of my life."

To be fair, the ad is slightly reminiscent of the 2000 presidential election when George W. Bush's past DUIs were dredged up close to the election. So that raises the question: Do you think that Murphy's actions as a 19-year-old college student are irrelevant to his leadership today? Or, do they highlight a lack in judgment that could point to larger problems?

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