The Affair affair gets curiouser and curiouser. I stumbled across this at
Watchblog
Quote:February 06, 2004
Rumor: A Kerry Affair & Push Polling
Rumor has it that John Kerry (D) is going to be outed by Time Magazine next week for having an affair with a 20 year old woman who remains unknown. The affair supposedly took place intermittently right up to Kerry's Fall 2002 announcement of candidacy. At present, this is nothing more than a rumor; and after such sordid tactics as the "push polling" that took place in South Carolina in the 2000 elections, can such rumors be credible during campaign cycles? Could this create a Democratic backlash against Republicans for perceived scandalmongering?
Watchblog's owner is one Cameron Barret, who happens also to be the director of the
Clark Community Network.
Now, with the possible exception of Jim Carville, Chris LeHane, who became Clark's campaign manager shortly after being fired from that position in Kerry's team is about the best dirty trickster the Dems have. It was LeHane who broke the October Surprise DUI story back in 2000. LeHane is nothing if not a Clintonista ... could this all be the start of a "Draft Hillary" gambit? Could it be simple bitterness on LeHane's part? It is rumored that Dean's decision to renege on his Wisconsin promise was predicated by his foreknowledge of an "Impending Kerry-Crushing Scandal". Could it be in fact a Democrat plant intended, as the blog article quoted above conjectures, to appear to have come from The Republicans, with the aim of creating an anti-Republican backlash? Whatever the answer, I just don't see it as a Republican plant; its way too early for that sort of thing. A cross-party revelation of this type typically breaks not more than a week or so prior to the general election, in order to minimize the victim's opportunity to address, explain, or rebut the allegations before crunch time. Never let your opponent have the time to minimize the damage of your bombshell. The whole point of scandal leaks is to place doubt and/or distaste in the minds of the voters at the critical time. Given that the Democrat's convention is yet months away, it just wouldn't be smart politics for the Republicans to fire their killshot now. Nor would it seem to make much sense for The Democrats to burn off their backlash gambit so long before its heat would affect the General Election. This is end-game stuff, not middle play, and the board hasn't really even developed an opening yet. Nope, I'm convinced this came from somewhere within the Democrat's apparatus, replete as it is with suitable personages set to derive, or at least to perceive, immediate gain. As is said in legal circles,
"Qui Bono" ... Who Benefits. What we got here is a rumor, so far, and plenty of suspects but no clear logical motive. Yup, curiouser and curiouser.