Harper wrote:Finn d'Abuzz wrote:That Kerry has felt the need to respond to the Swift Boaters indicates that his campaign, at least, feels their charges are doing some damage.
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Real poor logic there. And a regurgitation of a Repub talking point. Kerry responded because not having done so may have eventually caused damage. Kerry hasn't lost a beat from this and in the long run this smear campaign will actually result in a net gain.
The GOP must have a far reach because this particular "talking point" has been all over the news. Just heard it again on NPR during the drive home.
The classic response to negative campaign tactics is ignore them and see if it will blow over. No candidate wants to draw attention to such issues by responding, if he or she does not have to. If the issues persist, the candidate must respond.
Your blind loyalty to Senator Kerry is touching, but simply wrong. A week, where the dominant political news story is concerned with whether or not one candidate lied, is a stumble for that candidate's campaign.
According to the Rassmussen polls, 47% of voters have a favorable opinion of Kerry's Vietnam service while 36% have an unfavorable opinion.
Only 39% believe he is telling the truth while 31% believe he is exaggerating his experience and 15% believe he is lying.
And this from the NY Times:
"A new CBS News polls shows that Mr. Kerry's support among veterans has slipped since the Democratic convention. Shortly after he accepted the nomination, he was tied with Mr. Bush among veterans at 46 percent, but the poll shows Mr. Bush well ahead, 55 percent to 37 percent."
This is of particular import because to win in November, Kerry must convince the electorate that he be trusted to replace Bush as Commander-in-Chief.
