Barney Frank, the outspoken, (dim) witty Democrat closely tied to the 2008 U.S. bank bailout, faces a tough re-election battle

after 15 terms in office at a time when incumbency itself is a liability.

Challenging the Massachusetts liberal is Republican Sean Bielat, an Iraq war veteran, and opinion polls suggest Frank has an uncomfortably narrow lead over a political unknown.

Bielat's campaign has tagged Frank as a "key player in America's financial collapse" who "has promoted much of what caused the worst economic downturn in decades."

Landy said some see Frank as the "personification of the cozy relationship between the government and irresponsible finance."


www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69R0KR20101028