Schwarzenegger, Feinstein Spliced Together For Bond Ad

An independent-expenditure group calling itself Bipartisans to Rebuild California is unveiling a new TV ad campaign tomorrow in which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein are "appearing." That's technically true.

This does not mean, however, that the Republican governor and the Democratic senator shared the same studio or participated in producing the new ad, which promotes $37 billion worth of infrastructure bonds on Tuesday's ballot.

The newly formed committee took separate footage of both Schwarzenegger and Feinstein endorsing the bonds, and put it together into one big "bipartisan" ad for Propositions 1A to 1E. Under federal campaign finance rules, Feinstein cannot participate in an independent expenditure campaign if she also appears on the ballot, which she does. Schwarzenegger also did not participate in producing the ad.

So state Treasurer Phil Angelides, who has been endorsed by Feinstein, can sleep tonight without wondering why the popular senior senator from California is sidling up to Schwarzenegger on the tube.

Who is paying for these ads? Bipartisans to Rebuild California includes representatives from the construction industry, city governments and unions, who in turn have raised money from individuals to pay for the TV ad campaign.

(Photos: Steve Yeater / AP; Reed Saxon / AP)