On San Jose's cable system this weekend, a commercial in the style of political attack ads has been running suggesting that Yahoo president Sue Decker is a racist. The charge is ridiculous, of course. The claim is being put forward by Consumers for Responsible Government, a political action committee. In its ad, the PAC tries to link Decker, an Intel board member, to an objectionable ad Intel ran showing black sprinters bowing before a white manager. The PAC's real agenda in smearing Decker?

Trying to stop a California ballot measure that would make filing class-action lawsuits harder. What that has to do with Decker, or Intel's ill-thought-out ad, escapes me. But it's telling that tactics from political campaigns are now entering the realm of business — and smearing one of Silicon Valley's highest-profile executives in the process.

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