HARTFORD, Conn. -- Richard Blumenthal's words are haunting him again.
Already forced to apologize for saying he had served "in" Vietnam in the Marine Reserve rather than stateside, the state attorney general's campaign for U.S. Senate is now being challenged to explain his assertion that he had "never taken PAC money" and has "rejected all special interest money."

Federal records show that he has accepted $480,000 in political action committee money since he made that claim in January. Moreover, his Republican opponent, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon, points to nearly $17,000 Blumenthal received as a state legislative candidate in the 1980s -- a figure Blumenthal's campaign does not dispute.

The context of the interview was the race for the Senate seat and how expensive the campaign would be. During the interview, Blumenthal was shown a clip in which McMahon said she would commit whatever personal money was necessary to win because she did not want to take special interest funds.

Blumenthal was then asked how tough the race would be -- and how expensive.
"I've never taken PAC money, and I have rejected all special interest money because I have stood strong and taken legal action against many of those special interests," he responded.

When pressed again on how much the race might cost, Blumenthal said it was too early to tell but said he was going to run a "very grass-roots campaign" and seek fundraising "from ordinary citizens."