Watch Whitman ad feat Clinton and Brown's rough relationship. Probably best campaign spot so far

HALPERIN'S TAKE: The Whitman ad is probably the best TV spot by any campaign all cycle. Clinton and Brown have always had a rough relationship, which probably hit rock bottom...

... in 1992, when, in the same debate from which the Whitman campaign lifted the Clinton video, Brown went after Hillary Clinton's private sector employment in Arkansas, calling her dealings with the state a "major scandal." Brown accused the former Arkansas governor of "funneling money to his wife's law firm for state business."

"I don't care what you say about me, but you ought to be ashamed of yourself for jumping on my wife," Clinton fired back, wagging his famous finger at Brown. "You're not worth being on the same platform as my wife." Clinton went on, saying Brown "comes here with his family wealth and his $1,500 suit and makes a lying accusation about my wife."

Bill Clinton endorsed San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in the Democratic primary for governor this year against Brown, although Newsom later dropped out of the race.

Brown's dissing of Bill Clinton is probably not going to sit too well with the many California voters with whom the former president is still majorly popular. And it surely makes the prospect that Clinton would campaign for Brown -- not a sure thing before -- even less likely.

And the outburst captured on the video is sure to reinforce the meme that Brown is a gaffe-prone hothead, since he has made more such mistakes than first-time candidate Whitman, a fact much noted by the media and of concern to some leading Democrats.

Brown has called on the Whitman campaign to pull down the TV ad, but the Republican has stood by her claim that Brown raised taxes as governor. (Source Time)