KERRY KERRY QUITE CONTRARY ...a vote for Bush is a vote against yourself...

So Kerry takes the bait and says he wouldn't change his vote on this illegal war in Iraq even knowing that Iraq had no WMD...

Alas...he won't denounce the Swift Boat Motherfuckers For Evil (or hasn't yet), but he takes this challenge from Bush. What is he thinking? Is he actively trying to turn off his antiwar supporters? Is he actively trying to give Bushies more proof that he's a "flip-flopper?"

Maybe he thinks he's actually combatting the flip-flopping charge by reaffirming his Iraq war vote because he's being consistent now about his vote then. But now the Republican Noise Machine has moved on past "flip-flop" as the attack du jour and has moved on to accusing him of being too "nuanced." As in, "While Kerry is poring over every nuance of every decision, Bush is striding forward decisively." The grim Reaper-publicans are trying to paint nuance-divination as the polar opposite of gung-ho, ideological decisiveness.

How Elections Are Won

And unfortunately, that's how elections are won. That's how products are sold. Not by any carefully reasoned argument that is scrupulously sourced and expertly argued. Elections are won by meaningless sloganeering and simplifying. Coca-Cola is "the real thing" (as if other soft drinks are fake?) as much as George W. Bush is "a compassionate conservative," and so on.

That's what Democrats didn't have the hang of in 2000 and don't have the hang of now. Michael Moore has the hang of it--he said Bush was a deserter. Why should our side have to prove whether that's actually true or not? Just send surrogates on every cable program and have them say it over and over again, in response to questions related to the topic or not. Let Bush have to prove that he wasn't a deserter. The job of a campaign is to make the other guy have to defend the things he can't or would really rather not have to defend.

No, it isn't moral to do that. It's disgusting. But until further notice, that's how the game is played. You have to pick out 3 or 4 uncomfortable points about the opposing candidate and repeat them endlessly in every possible venue. It helps immensely if you can distill it into one folksy phrase--"flip-flopper," most liberal Senator," "war criminal," etc.

Now these charges may or may not be true in Kerry's case, but the truth of the charges has no bearing on the election. A campaign just has to make the public think such things are true until victory is certain, and then the truth will be quietly examined and published in the ensuing years.

I thought Kerry was going to "bring it on" and not let the Republiquors get away with any of this crap. It's probably a little late to begin a smear campaign against Bush, but better late than never. We're trying to win here, not get a "satisfactory" in deportment on our campaign report card.

Some Smear Suggestions

1. Bush was arrested for drunk-driving and was an alcoholic for many years by his own admission. Note: it always helps when a candidate has admitted to something, as Kerry did with "committing atrocities." Even if Bush has been sober for decades, the point is to hammer home that Bush was a lush, and that's addictive behavior. How may such proclivities manifest themselves in the future? Just put it out there--if Kerry committed atrocities, Bush was an alkie. Just say it over and over.

2. Bush was investigated by the SEC for his Harken stock sale. Therefore, he's an inside trader. Say it over and over. Remember, it's up to Bush to disprove it. The public has a right to know that he's an inside trader.

3. Bush flip-flopped on abortion. He used to be pro-choice. How can a true conservative Republican have ever been pro-choice? Was he telling the truth about his views then or now? Hard to say. Even if he protests that he's now pro-life, well gee, it's hard to trust the word of a flip-flopping, alcoholic, inside trader, isn't it. Because that's what he is. Take a lesson from Goebbels--God knows the Republicans have. And the lesson is: a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth in the minds of the public.

4. Bush is a deserter. He didn't finish out his National Guard service. He was grounded from flying because he didn't show up for a physical. His document dump on the subject was designed to make him look like he's transparent and has nothing to hide. It actually does nothing of the sort. The Dems tried to take up this cause for a while but got cowed too easily. Bring it back up and repeat it all the time.

5. Smear Republican funder Richard Mellon Scaife like O'Reilly does Soros. Over and over.

6. Bush is rich and powerful. He's out of touch with the American public.

And so forth...

There are others, send in suggestions. I gotta wrap up for now...if I have some time this evening, I'll try to think of some more.