Cong. John Boozman ratcheted up the attacks on Sen. Blanche Lincoln a day after a new Talk Business/Hendrix College Poll showed the race tightening though Boozman maintains a solid lead.

Boozman’s new TV ad, which you can view below, reminds voters that Lincoln has worked closely in the past with Pres. Barack Obama, who remains unpopular in Arkansas.

"I couldn’t have done it without Blanche Lincoln," Obama says upon signing a financial reform law that included Lincoln’s provisions to regulate the trillion-dollar derivatives markets.

On Tuesday, Talk Business released the results of a new poll that shows Boozman with a 49-36% lead over Lincoln.  It is the first time Boozman has polled below 50% in their general election contest and it is the highest percentage Lincoln has garnered in public polling.

Still, Hendrix College political scientist Dr. Jay Barth, who helped conduct and analyze the poll of 1,953 likely Arkansas voters, contends that the hurdle for Lincoln to overcome is a high one.

"It is hard to see how she makes up the final ground with voters beginning to cast their votes in the early voting process," Barth said in his analysis.

Boozman embarked on a 56-city bus tour on Tuesday and Lincoln’s campaign used the launch to showcase differences between the two candidates. Calling it a "honk and wave tour," Lincoln issued a press release of local projects that she’s supported and Boozman has voted against. The projects include line-items such as funding for police departments, school districts, battered women’s shelters, and highway construction.

Boozman’s campaign responded that the GOP Senate nominee is opposed to "excessive federal spending" as a reason for many of his votes against specific projects and earmarks.

On Monday, Lincoln held a press conference to argue that Boozman’s record with veterans was weaker than hers.  She also complained that he accused her of lying about his positions on key votes involving veterans.

"It was particularly disturbing because he offered no evidence," Lincoln told reporters.  Lincoln’s web site hosts a comparison of 20 votes on veterans’ issues that she claims helped Arkansas’ military families.

Boozman’s campaign responded saying that many of the votes in question were procedural or tied to contentious funding bills or measures with a "social agenda." The campaign offered a point-by-point rebuttal to Lincoln’s claims.  You can access that document here.