SwiftVets.com

[DenisC]

http://www.hughhewitt.com/#postid912

"We have seen some bouncing around in the numbers," says Mike McCurry, a top Kerry adviser, "but it is our sense that the race is moving back to a much closer race."

McCurry was speaking after the new Gallup/CNN/USAToday poll was released, showing the president with a 13-point lead over John Kerry, 55%-42%. Unfortunately for Mike, "make it so," only works in sci-fi series. McCurry might not be spinning --there was certainly a brief moment post iceberg when Captain Edward J. Smith thought all would be well-- but the battleground state polls are underscoring Gallup's basic finding.

Instapundit speculates that the president is getting help from the combination of MoveOn.org's insanity and Dan Rather's stonewalling. Perhaps a little, but Bush-Cheney '04 is really benefiting from many factors including a growing economy, low unemployment, and a clear policy of aggressive pursuit of victory in the GWOT, each one of which contrasts nicely with the Kerry plan for a tax hike and even greater spending, declaring an artificial end to the battle in Iraq and retreat from the realities of the GWOT, and a return to blame America first for Islamism, with a healthy does of appeasement of North Korea and Iran while making nice with the French thrown in. What a surprise: Americans don't want that.

And they most certainly don't want a candidate who can't even answer questions on camera. It is now 46 days since Kerry sat down with Chris Wallace on FoxNews, which may be the longest stretch since the invention of television when a major party candidate did not give a television interview. Of course Kerry couldn't make it through twenty minutes with Imus without a few pratfalls, so his handlers will probably keep him on ice until the debates.

The big problem for Kerry is that the election really begins tomorrow, when ballots are mailed out to "long term absentee" voters in Oregon. Voting begins in Iowa on September 23, and in Arizona on September 30. Early voting is widespread, and it isn't just absentee voting. In Florida, for example, voting centers open 15 days before the 11/2 vote. The GOP ground game is in great shape, and its base is energized. Dems are downcast, stuck with an out-of-touch, fantastically bad campaigner and an invisible lightweight on the bottom of the ticket.

The clock has ticked down past where Kerry can make another "introduction to the voter," and he's in hiding anyway. No wonder the worst party chair in American political history, Terry McAuliffe, the Manchurian Chairman, is still talking TANG. He's got nothing else.

Meanwhile, the building is still burning at CBS, and no one is doing anything to save the brand. Powerline, Beldar, KerrySpot, INDC Journal Captain's Quarters, and of course RatherBiased --the usual, pajama-clad suspects, in other words-- have a variety of updates, and must be checked throughout the day. Here's a few words from CBS News president Heyward, to the Los Angeles Times (via the Wall Street Journal):

"Meanwhile, CBS News President Andrew Heyward promised in a statement and series of interviews to work harder to answer questions about the veracity of memos, even as it stands by 'the content' of the story.

'I have great confidence in our sources and reporting, but obviously there are unanswered questions,' he told the Los Angeles Times. He said the network's new efforts weren't an investigation, but 'an extension of the reporting we said we'd do.'

'Because there continue to be questions swirling around the documents, it's important to keep looking into those as best we can,' Mr. Heyward told the New York Times. 'I'm very confident in the report, but I want to get to the bottom of these continuing questions.'"

That's just delusional. Like the Boston Globe's editorial today, which has to be read slowly to be savored. Paragraph One:

"UNLESS THE documents used by "60 Minutes" in a broadcast on President Bush's National Guard service were fabricated by a campaign operative, they are part of a story relating to the news judgment at CBS and have little to do with presidential politics."

"[N]ews judgment at CBS?" Didn't the Globe run with these docs as well? Has there been a retraction I missed? And does the Globe allow its editors to live in a different reality, because the CBS/Globe forgeries were used to attack the campaign of George W. Bush.

Paragraph Two:



"Even if they are genuine, the documents don't add much to what is known. While some of the details remain uncertain, it is clear that during the Vietnam War, President Bush took advantage of his family connections to obtain a slot in the Texas Air National Guard, became certified as a jet pilot, later missed a number of meetings and other obligations, lost his National Guard pilot's license, and was honorably discharged."

Oh, not fake but accurate. Now it is Rosana Rosana Dana "never mind" time, followed by bizarre, unproven allegations, including the thigh slapper "lost his National Guard's pilot's license."

Paragraph Three:



"With Senator John Kerry, while some details are also in dispute, abundant documentation makes it clear that Kerry volunteered for hazardous duty in Vietnam, returned after an abbreviated tour in which he was wounded three times, and performed with true heroism twice, earning the Silver Star and Bronze Star he was awarded."

What about the magic hat, the gun-running to Cambodia, Doug Brinkley's release of the journals, the not-in-Cambodia Christmas Eve that was "seared, seared" into Kerry's memory? None of this matters? What about the '71 testimony and the anti-war slanders? None of this matters? The Swift Boat Vets for Truth have a new ad out. It doesn't matter? Nothing matters except the narrative that helps Kerry?

Paragraph Four (the end):



"To the extent that this 30-year-old history matters to any voters, these are the facts. But this election should focus on more-immediate issues. We hope strongly that the campaign turns to the wide differences of policy and vision that separate the candidates. Let's get on with it. "

As they said in Monty Python and the Holy Grail when confronting the rabbit of Caerbannog: "Run Away! Run Away!" Kerry and his pals picked this field and started these fights. Now they want to talk about Medicare. Go figure. But the ballots are in the mail tomorrow in Oregon, and this cake is already baked.
_________________
DenisC
173rd Airborne, RVN '65-67'

[producehawk]

hopefully, the kerry goose is already cooked.