An ad running in Pittsburgh by a third party group claims Barack Obama voted as a state senator to give early release to sexual abusers.

The spot is being paid for by a newly-incorporated outfit, The Committee for Truth in Politics.   The group was registered by a William Peaslee, a former top aide at the North Carolina GOP and currently a Raleigh-area attorney.   Peaslee’s group has also been in on the air in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina going after Obama on abortion.

Asked about the accusation, Obama’s campaign said the Democrat had simply registered his vote incorrectly and corrected the record that same day.

The state Senate floor transcript from the day, March 11th, 1999, includes this from Obama:  “For purpose of correction. I pressed the wrong button on that. I wanted to vote Yes.”

The mishap was brought up in Obama’s 2004 Senate run, and, as he later recounted in his book, "The Audacity of Hope," his adviser David Axelrod presciently predicted it would arise again in the form of an ad:

 “As is standard practice these days, the National Republican Senatorial Committee had prepared a fat binder of opposition research on me before I was even nominated, and my own research team spent many hours combing through my record in an effort to anticipate what negative ads the Republicans might have up their sleeves. They didn’t find a lot, but they found enough to do the trick— a dozen or so votes that, if described without context, could be made to sound pretty scary…Running down the list, I came across a claim that while in the state legislature I had voted against a bill to “protect our children from sex offenders.” “Wait a minute,” I said, snatching the sheet from David’s hands. “I accidentally pressed the wrong button on that bill. I meant to vote aye, and had it immediately corrected in the official record.” David smiled. “Somehow I don’t think that portion of the official record will make it into a Republican ad.” He gently retrieved the poll from my hands. “Anyway, cheer up,” he added, clapping me on the back. “I’m sure this will help you with the sex offender vote.”