For years, many in the media have been trying to disparage Barack Obama by suggesting that “Chicago-style politics” is so uniquely corrupt and nasty that anyone who ever lived there must also be corrupt and nasty. It's an absurd line of attack, but not a surprising one, given that much the same thing was said about Arkansas the last time there was a Democratic president.

Now, when it comes to absurd but unsurprising attacks on Barack Obama, Los Angeles Times blogger and former Laura Bush aide Andrew Malcolm never met one he didn't like, and guilt-by-geography is no exception. Malcolm's blog is littered with snide references to Chicago. And today, Malcolm provides the best evidence yet that “Chicago-style” is the emptiest epithet around. Here's Malcolm's headline for a post about GOP Rep. Joseph Cao:

Republican Rep. Joseph Cao reaps the rewards of bipartisanship; Obama thanks him the Chicago way

The Chicago way? Oh, no! What has Barack Obama done to that nice Joseph Cao? Had him whacked? Dispatched hired goons to intimidate his family? Uh … no:

Now, thanks to the indispensable daily Playbook of Politico's Mike Allen, the world knows that the very first campaign ad that Obama taped for this fall election cycle was to benefit Democrat Richmond against the Republican who enabled the White House to call healthcare passage bipartisanship.

Turns out, the “Chicago way” is campaigning for members of your political party. Why, that's worse than anything Nixon ever did!