GULFPORT, Fla., April 14 (UPI) -- The chairman of the Florida Democratic Party has apologized for a newspaper ad that suggested Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld be executed.
The ad in a Gulfport, Fla., weekly was paid for by the nearby St. Petersburg Democratic club but was ordered pulled by state leader Scott Maddox, who called it "reprehensible and in poor taste" and called for a formal apology, the Washington Times reported Wednesday.
The ad refers to comments Rumsfeld made about having good days and bad days in the Iraq operation.
"We should put this S.O.B. up against the wall and say 'This is one of our bad days,' and pull the trigger," the ad said.
Florida Democratic officials said the ad was placed without their knowledge.
"It is obvious that this is the work of a misguided individual in a small social club," a spokesman said.
But club Vice President Edna McCall told the Drudge Report the ad was not meant as a call for actual injury to Rumsfeld. "'Pull the trigger' means let Rumsfeld know where we stand, not shoot him," she said.
