Here’s a Romney campaign email passed on by a friend — it sure tugs at the heartstrings:

Dear [name],

Father’s Day is coming up, and as the oldest of five sons, I feel responsible for making sure my Dad feels appreciated on his special day.

This year, I had a particularly difficult time deciding how to celebrate Dad. So much has happened this year and I wanted to give him a great gift.

Often, under pressure to give a holiday gift, we buy our family and friends something they don’t want or won’t use and I’m sure I’ve even given Dad a couple of useless gifts.

That’s why this year, I want to be sure that my brothers and I do something for Dad that we know he wants and will appreciate – raise $500,000 toward his end-of-quarter fundraising goal.

I know that I can raise a few thousand dollars more by contacting everyone in my address book. With Dad gaining support every day, it’s becoming an easier task. However, to get to our $500,000 goal, my brothers and I are going to need your help.

Will you join us in the address book challenge? All you have to do is forward this message to everyone in your address book and ask them to help us raise $500,000 for presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Father’s Day gift.

And please take the time to add a contribution of your own to the effort at www.MittRomney.com/FathersDay…

My brothers and I do our best to help with the campaign. We hope we can count on you to help us make Father’s Day special for our Dad this year.

As my friend asks, “Who responds to this crap?”