Trying to make the best of a terrible situation, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is up with a new 60-second TV ad in which he acknowledges the failure of his family's bank, and then tries to spin it into an attack on his GOP opponent, Mark Kirk.

"When I left, over four years ago, it was in good shape. But no one could have foreseen these problems," he says. A narrator than invokes Kirk's "votes for the Bush policies that got us into this mess," an eyebrow-raising attempt to blame the previous president for Broadway Bank's collapse, it seems. "If a business like my father's, that he started 30 years ago, can fail, it's happening everywhere," Giannoulias says.

You can read the full script of the spot, called "Fighter," after the jump.

GIANNOULIAS: "My father started this business 30 years ago. It's helped thousands of people achieve the American Dream. People who couldn't go to the big banks. I was very proud to be a part of it, and when I left, over four years ago, it was in good shape. But no one could have foreseen these problems. Family businesses are dealing with challenges they never would have foreseen. We've seen family businesses go under on every block, on every corner."
 
ANNOUNCER: "But Washington politician Mark Kirk doesn't get it. First he votes for the Bush policies that got us into this mess, including tax breaks for companies that ship jobs to China. Then, Kirk has the nerve to vote against extending unemployment benefits, saying unemployment isn't a big issue."
 
GIANNOULIAS: "If a business like my father's, that he started 30 years ago, can fail -- it's happening everywhere. People want someone who's going to fight for them. Someone who's been through tough times. Someone who's seen, looked at those problems in the face and continues to move on. And continues to fight and to struggle for people. And that's why I'm running for the U.S. Senate.
 
"I'm Alexi Giannoulias and I approve this message."

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