As I wrote on Sunday, John McCain is touting an unlikely name in his list of "prominent" Democratic supporters: Phillip "Icky" Frye of West Virginia.

Just who is Icky Frye? Well, he's a TV and VCR repairman who decided to run for governor of West Virginia after discovering that his wife was having an extramarital affair with then-Governor Bob Wise.

Icky said his campaign "was fueled by revenge" and that he "wanted to embarrass Wise," who he called a "little weasel-faced bastard" and a "typical Democrat."

During the campaign, Icky told a West Virginia TV station that he didn't have any qualifications to serve as governor but wanted "to be a sheer nuisance to Bob Wise."

Icky's campaign slogan ("He'll do his job...not his staff.") was a reference to the affair between his wife, a state employee, and the governor

Not suprisingly, Icky finished in 7th place of out 8, winning just 1% of the vote.

Despite all this, according to the McCain campaign, Icky is one of the nation's most "prominent" Democratic "leaders and activists", and is one of the most important members of John McCain's effort to win over Democratic voters.

And now, according to a front-page report in The Charleston Gazette, the McCain campaign is defending their claim that Icky is a "prominent" Democrat.

Hilarious!

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According to Icky, the McCain campaign actively sought his endorsement:

Frye, the only West Virginian on the list, said the McCain campaign contacted him about a week ago at his home in Hugheston and asked him to join the group. ... "They asked me to be one of their representatives. We're in touch, getting some things together. McCain will make some appearances together with us."

On Monday, the Charleston Gazette of West Virginia asked the McCain campaign why Icky Frye is on their list of the thirty most "prominent Democratic and unaffiliated leaders and activists who have joined 'Citizens for McCain'."

Amazingly, instead of downplaying Icky's status, the McCain campaign defended their "prominent Democrat" claim (emphasis added):

Jeff Sadoski, a spokesman for the national McCain campaign, said Monday, "This is a list of people who are known in different states, as Democrats or independents. They include elected officers and leaders in the Democratic Party. They were prominent Democrats."

Sadowski said Frye was "someone who has run statewide as a Democrat."

Asked how the McCain campaign chose people to put on the list of "prominent" supporters, Sadowski said, "We did research. We reviewed them."

Wow. They "researched" the names. They "reviewed" the names. And they came up with Icky? Ha!

My friends, this is amateur hour. The McCain campaign is not read for prime-time.

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Update 1: Greg Sargent and Eric Kleefeld look at some other names in McCain's list and declare "it's a bit of sham."

Update 2: This story is grabbing the attention of West Virginia media. A reader e-mailed to alert me that the The Charleston Gazette has a front-page article on McCain's claim and I just finished an interview with a reporter from the NPR affiliate in Charleston who saw my post about this on Sunday.