The Swift Vets are their Willie Horton

[fujiyama]

Yep. They've done it again. They can't actually fight on issues or provide any reasons why Bush should be elected.

I'm glad Kerry replied, but he's wasted too much time. Why is he on the defensive? Why didn't Move On release these ads earlier? Why did it take him this long to address it? I also think he's made a mistake by not giving a simpler answer to the Rovian IWR question.

Kerry has been and is the underdog. No one should believe otherwise. It's overly optimistic to believe this is Kerry's to lose or that Bush is toast. There are a lot of stupid people in this country. The polls are indicitive of that. I'm not saying that there was a lot of other things Kerry could have done, but these last two weeks haven't been good for him.

[lancdem]

1. They telegraphed this

Remember, the Bushies said they were going to rip Kerry to shreds in August. He knew it was coming.

[depakid]

2. His campaign knew it was coming, but

they are simply choosing to follow the tired and true losing strategy of trying to "take the high road," apparently in the hope that their surrogrates can rebut the case or that the media would call the liars what they are.

And as has been the case in previous campaigns where this has been tried- including, I might add- Democratic nomination fights, they now find themselves facing a situation where they are not only on the defensive, but where they will actually have change perceptions that people have already formed- which any marketer will tell you is a much more difficult and expensive proposition.

It can be done, but time is running short. If the current situation is allowed to continue into the convention, it could portend disaster- because the very people Kerry's strategists have chosen (I think dubiously) to target are cross-over Republicans and "undecideds." Not a terribly sophisticated group, to say the least- and just the sort of audience that's likely to be swayed by the type of endless repetition and distorted advertising practises that the Republicans are so masterful with.

[DemoTex]

3. Listen to the demons chuckle and yell,

Burning Lee Atwater down in hell.

(Apologies to Vachel Lindsey)