In what may turn out to be one of the nastiest, hardest fought election seasons in our lifetime, the dirty tricks are starting early.

In Troy, New York, voting officials claim it was a "typo" that is responsible for Barack Obama's name appearing as 'Barack Osama' on a ballot already distributed to hundreds of voters.

According to timesunion.com:

TROY - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's last name is spelled "Osama" on hundreds of absentee ballots mailed out this week to voters in Rensselaer County.

The misspelling, which elections officials on both sides of the aisle insist was simply a typo, is causing embarrassment for the county.

''No question this is an honest mistake innocently done,'' said Edward McDonough, the Democratic commissioner. ''We catch almost everything.''

''This was a typo,'' said Republican Commissioner Larry Bugbee. ''We have three different staff members who proof these things and somehow the typo got by us.''

According to the paper, Officials say the flawed ballots were sent to approximately 300 voters. On row 1A Barack Obama's name is spelled Barack Osama. Is it a Freudian slip, intentional act or a mistake? Voters are sure to have opinions, and one pol pointed out that the letters 's' and 'b' are not exactly keyboard neighbors.

Oh please. In the words of Judge Judy, "Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining!" At least they could have come up with an excuse like "the B key was broken." Something.
But even the county Democratic election commissioner is apologizing for what he calls a terrible mistake.

McDonough said the absentee ballots went out to voters in Brunswick, Nassau, Sand Lake, Schaghticoke and Schodack with the error.

So far three people have called to point it out, he said. Those people will get new ballots sent to them.
Sure it's an insulting incident but one voter wisely wonders about the larger ramifications of such a misspelling appearing on an official ballot:

One Sand Lake resident who caught the misspelling, and who asked to remain anonymous, was skeptical.

''It's a little suspicious and at least grossly incompetent,'' the voter said, wondering ''if I crossed out the name and wrote in the right spelling my ballot would be invalid?"
Well would it? THAT is the question for the county election commissioners.