Pablo 1, Pete 0

We never thought we'd live to see a Cincinnati council candidate trying to get votes by dissing Pete Rose.

But we hadn't counted on Joan Kaup.

Kaup, the Charter candidate, has a highly-targeted direct mail piece - targeted at what Kaup likes to call "progressive thinkers" - that features the Andy Warhol screen print of Cincinnati's Hit King on the cover, with a pointed message in bold type: Forget Pete Rose! Picasso's the Man.

"We all know how important the Reds and the Bengals are to our local economy,'' it says inside the flyer. "but when we look at our competitive advantages as a city, the arts rise to the top."

It goes on to promise more investment in "cultural marketing,'' Kaup's efforts to help Jim Tarbell to preserve small arts funding in the city budget, and more encouragement for arts organizations that receive city funds to work with public school kids.

"Selling art. It's one way to make Cincinnati everything it can be."

Now, Pete may be more of a "piece of work" than a "work of art," but a head-first slide is a thing of beauty.