campaign 2004...misinformation and "black propaganda"

That's not Al!!

Al is STUART. ("I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people LIKE me!!")

(Loved "Stuart Saves his Family".)

I think what is very unfortunate is that these campaigns rely so heavily on sound bites, both of the aural and visual kind (I think of the "Hanoi John" manipulated photo as a sound bite.) But given that fact, I think the game needs to be played, and a serious contender needs to be willing to play it.

He really nailed the prototypical whiney alcoholic/addict

I suspect, having read both your posts and Thomas' for some time, that the three of us would likely reach pretty similar decisions, if we were deeply involved in a campaign, as to what ethical lines ought not to be crossed.

...Ann Coulter, whose latest error-riddled effusion is an attack on former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, who has been critical of the Bush administration. Apparently in an effort to make George W.'s incomplete in the National Guard look better, Coulter wrote a column distributed by the Heritage Foundation saying Cleland, a triple amputee, had showed "no bravery" in Vietnam, "didn't give his limbs for his country," is not a war hero. My favorite sentence is, "Luckily for Cleland ... he happened (to lose his limbs) while in Vietnam," her point being that if he had been injured at Fort Dix, he wouldn't be a hero.

He also wouldn't have been under enemy fire at Fort Dix. She says he lost his legs in "a routine noncombat mission where he was about to drink beer with friends." Actually, Cleland lost his limbs when a grenade detonated after he and another soldier jumped off a helicopter in a combat zone.

As for not being a war hero, Cleland earned the Silver Star in a separate incident just four days before he was injured. The citation reads, "during heavy enemy rocket and mortar attack, Capt. Cleland disregarded his own safety, exposed himself to rocket barrage as he left his covered position to administer first aid to his wounded comrades. He then assisted them in moving the injured personnel to covered positions. Cleland's gallant action is in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit and the United Sates Army."

How lucky for Cleland ...