EJ Dionne notes Bush is redoing crazy McCain 2000 SC attack w/ Kerry

[papau]

Seems EJ Dionne has picked up on the Bush destroy war hero technique "The above-the-surface part is about his voting record, which Kerry will, indeed, have to defend. The below-the-surface part will paint him as a Vietnam-peacenik-Massachusetts-liberal weirdo" - seem's the attack against crazy McCain worked - why not again?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A804-2004Feb23.html

Bush's McCain Strategy Redux

By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Tuesday, February 24, 2004; Page A21


"When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible."



That was George W. Bush's brilliant dodge throughout the 2000 campaign whenever questions came up as to how he behaved during his twenties and early thirties. By poking fun at himself, Bush was winking at the press corps, especially the baby boomers among them. Bush's unspoken subtext: You guys did a lot of irresponsible things then, too, so you're not in an ideal position to ask me a lot of questions, are you? <snip>


Which makes you ask: If Kerry's twenties and early thirties are destined to be an issue in this campaign, is it fair for the media to give the same years in Bush's life a pass just because he's the incumbent? To paraphrase John Edwards, will we have two standards, one for a Democratic challenger and one for a Republican president?

The Bush campaign, of course, is leaving the brutal stuff to surrogates. Formally, Bush's apparatus is focusing on Kerry's record in the Senate, especially his votes on intelligence and military spending. Isn't that fair game?

What's forgotten is that Bush has a pattern throughout his political career of staying above the fray while others tear his opponents to shreds. The Republicans are trying to weave a clear narrative about Kerry. The above-the-surface part is about his voting record, which Kerry will, indeed, have to defend. The below-the-surface part will paint him as a Vietnam-peacenik-Massachusetts-liberal weirdo.

The template is what Bush's campaign did to Sen. John McCain, another Vietnam hero, in South Carolina during the 2000 Republican primaries. <snip>

[oneighty]

1. Good.

Maybe the pubes gonna waste a lot of money where they gonna win anyway. My experience living in SC is that if one is not a racists one will not win. Wink Wink.

But OTOH...There are a lot of retired military in SC that do not like chicken-shit-cowards.

180

[TomSeaver]

2. Will McCain endorse

Kerry? Much like that idiot Zell Miller is doing with Bush

[papau]

3. But he is going national w/"hero - but crazy Liberal flipper"against Kerry

War makes you change positiuons on issues - I guess -

and that is bad to a cowboy who only sees black and white.

[blm]

4. That's what Joe Klein said in his Dec.2002 New Yorker piece:

>>>>>>>>
The real business of the day was transacted afterward. Kerry mingled easily with the vets, who were mostly African-American; he cussed and joked and talked about places like Da Nang and Da Lat. A pink-faced overweight man approached. "I'm Jim Gunn," he said to Kerry. "Do you remember me?"

Kerry nodded warily. Gunn was the leader of the Coalition of Retired Military Veterans and had attacked Senator John McCain during the 2000 Republican Presidential primary in South Carolina. Kerry had written a letter protesting the charges that another veterans' group had made against McCain-essentially, that McCain was "anti-veteran"-and he had got the other Vietnam combat veterans in the Senate to sign it. Now Jim Gunn said to him, "I just want you to know, Senator, that you were right about McCain and I was wrong. Bush lied to my face, and I'll never support him again." Gunn proceeded to file a bill of particulars against the President on veterans' issues. Then he sighed and said, "I wish there was a machine that could really say when someone is telling the truth, but you sound sincere when you talk about our issues. I represent seventeen thousand vets in South Carolina-I'm like their union boss-and if you run for President next time we're with you."
........

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