Dems: Ripping off Obama's Web site a no-no

BANGOR, Maine, July 2 (UPI) -- O no -- Maine Democrats are accusing a potential Republican state legislative candidate of ripping off President Barack Obama's Web site.

State Republicans say it's a case of pettiness, the Bangor Daily News reported Thursday.

The Maine Democratic Party said Wednesday presumptive Republican candidate Les Otten's Web site was awfully similar to Obama's, with graphics built around the letter "O."

"Republicans just don't get it," Arden Manning, state Democratic party executive director, said in a statement. "They think they can succeed if they stand for all the same ideas that were soundly defeated in 2008 ... but simply change their branding to copy Barack Obama's Web site and logo."

Otten's campaign said the site was built from scratch by a company that uses standard industry templates and colors found on political Web sites nationwide, the Daily News said.

As for the use of the letter "O," Otten campaign spokeswoman Edith Smith pointed out, it's the first letter of the Republican's last name.