WASHINGTON — He didn't use the actual word, but few who saw Joe Miller's online analogy failed to grasp exactly what word he meant.

Earlier this afternoon, the Republican Senate candidate had this to say about the rumor Sen. Lisa Murkowski might join the Libertarian Party ticket if she loses her bid against him once all the ballots are counted: "What's the difference between selling out your party's values and the oldest profession?"

The tweet was soon deleted, but it's not dying anytime soon. It was forwarded — known as retweeting — throughout cyberspace within minutes.

A spokesman for Miller, Randy DeSoto, initially blamed the tweet on a staffer. And followed up with another tweet saying the reference was to the Libertarian Party, not Murkowski herself. "Please accept my apologies," he wrote. "Staffer trying to encourage Libertarians not to sell out."

Murkowksi's campaign manager, John Bitney, this to say:

"He just basically called Senator Murkowski a prostitute. I am doing my best in a moment of extreme anger right at the moment to be measured in my remarks. The word that comes to mind is deplorable. Disgusting. The man has no place representing Alaska in the U.S. Senate with that kind of attitude."

Bitney said this is being watched nationally and Miller should be ashamed to take it to that level. "He owes Alaskans an apology."