text: The jury’s out on just how seriously Democratic candidate Dan Adler should be taken in the crowded primary to replace departed Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) in California’s 36th district, but the career entertainment executive is drawing plenty of attention for his bizarre — and possibly offensive — ad campaign. 
   
   In his latest ad, Adler hangs out with a multi-ethnic crowd touting his appeal to Asian voters by pointing out that he’s married to a Korean and that — as a Jew — he can understand what it’s like to be a minority. In a weird and seemingly quite patronizing twist, a heavily-accented Korean immigrant woman in a laundromat awkwardly interrupts him throughout the ad, finally asking the camera “What’s a mensch?” The clip is drawing attention from viral video sites. 
   
   It seems clear that Adler, who is backed by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, is going the “Demon Sheep” route, using ads specifically designed to spread online out of shock value or just sheer weirdness. In another out-there spot, former child star Patty Duke declares “Dan Adler: He Gets Shit Done.” 
   
   In a similarly foul-mouthed video, Adler ups the shock factor to 11 by having his own young son deliver the catchphrase. He then proceeds to make a special effects-assisted dunk on a garage basketball hoop that would put Blake Griffin to shame. 
   
   Benjy Sarlin Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
target: – Dan Adler is campaigning for Jane Harman's vacated House seat, and the California Democrat has an odd, possibly offensive reason certain people should vote for him: His wife is Korean! Oh, and he himself is Jewish, and as his odd campaign ad states, "We minorities should stick together." On Talking Points Memo, Benjy Sarlin notes that the most "patronizing" part of the commercial is the "heavily-accented Korean immigrant woman in a laundromat awkwardly [interrupting] him throughout the ad." And in New York, Dan Amira concludes that if Adler "didn't have a Korean wife, this might one of the most racist campaign ads we've ever seen."