Dean argued that the use of Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) former pastor Jeremiah Wright in GOP ads in local races is “race baiting.”

“There’s a lot of difference between the Republicans and the Democrats on issues, but the biggest issue of all is we don’t use this kind of stuff. We never have used this kind of stuff, and we’re not going to start now,” said the DNC chairman. “America is more important than the Republican Party, and that’s the lesson that the voters are about to teach the Republicans.”

In response, Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan said in a statement that “voters are looking for strong leadership that has a positive vision to move us forward, but also recognizes the very real challenges we face by putting forward common sense solutions that grow our economy and protect our nation.”

Duncan criticized both Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as lacking an understanding of the economy and said the Democratic ticket in the fall will be headed by a candidate who “failed to follow through on their commitment to support the troops,” while standing with “the most radical elements of their party.”

On Sunday, Democrats appeared united in their desire to put the Wright controversy aside.

Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said Obama would not be a drag on the Democratic ticket.

On ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, the former first lady also weighed in on the issue.

“We should definitely move on,” Clinton said. “And we should move on because there [are] so many important issues facing our country that we have to attend to.”

Meantime, Obama said the Wright controversy has “distracted” his campaign.

“What he said did not bring the country together, it divided the country,” Obama said on NBC’s Meet the Press.

The Illinois senator said that he would “ultimately trust the American people to put this in context.”