Bret Schundler Busted! (Don't use doctored photos.)

Bret Schundler, the right-wing darling running for governor of New Jersey, has gotten busted. That's right: his campaign used the crowd shot from a Howard Dean presidential rally as the doctored backdrop for a Schundler campaign photo.

Seriously, how stupid are these guys?

Props to PoliticsNJ.com for catching the scam. And, apparently, a hearty "nice photo!" to John Pettitt who shot the original for Howard Dean.

Of course, the Bush/Cheney campaign doctored a crowd shot to make a small handful of military personnel into a sea of uniforms last year.

Also, just a couple of years ago, the University of Wisconsin got in trouble for a similar doctored photo incident. In their case, they digitally added an African-American student to a too-white football crowd shot for the cover of the alumni magazine. Bummer that the African-American student in question was an outspoken critic of the football program and the school's diversity efforts.

Don't use fake photos. Sure, obvious photo montages are fine (like our work for the 2002 Kulongoski for Governor website) but if you're trying to pull a fast one, you'll get caught. And who needs that headline?

Elsewhere:
Democrats.org: When you can't get any grassroots support…
American Street: Ginning up the grassroots
Brad DeLong: Thank God I'm Not a Republican!
Simian Brain: Craft Photoshoppery
Peekaboo: Fun with Photoshop
Value Judgment: NJ Red candidate steals Dean crowd photo
Esoterically.net: Photoshop is your friend
Doug Petch: He's so busted
Personal Democracy: Schundler Image Big Foul for Big Fish