The Kerry campaign has adopted this strategy and has been using it for months. In fact it seems to be the only strategy they can think of to use. And they picked a really bad issue to do this with. Oh yeah did you know that John Kerry served in Vietnam? I think I should name this strategy after him somehow. I'm sure this strategy has been used before, it kind of smacks of elements of the "it's the economy stupid" rhetoric. But I doubt a whole campaign has ever been based on it before. Any thoughts on what to call it?
Here's the latest example of said strategy.
In an echo of a charge President Bush (news - web sites) leveled at Kerry last week, Cheney contended that Kerry's position was held early in the primary campaign by Democratic presidential rival Howard Dean (news - web sites).
"Sen. Kerry said, and I quote, 'Those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) and those who believe today that we are not safer with his capture, don't have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president,'" Cheney said.
"In the spirit of bipartisanship, that's one position of Sen. Kerry's that I do agree with," he said.
This is legitimate political criticism during a campaign. Indeed it's a rather normal stump tactic to try and turn your opponents words against him. It's not Cheney's fault that Kerry makes it so amusingly easy. But here comes the super intellectual rebuttal using the aforementioned campaign strategy.
"Cheney's attacks come from a man who took five deferments from Vietnam and are disingenuous at best. His attacks are an insult to all of us who have ever worn the uniform," Kitchens said. "George Bush (news - web sites) and Dick Cheney like to blame others for their failures but they fail to see that the buck stops at their desks at the White House."
This is incredibly laughable. First of all the Bush campaign has gone out of it's way to complement John F'in Kerry on his service to our Country. Secondly the 'Wonder Boy' John Edwards also got a student deferment to avoid being drafted(should I even mention Bill Clinton?). Thirdly who cares!? Bush and Cheney know that the buck stops with them which is why they are trying to talk about what they've done since they got to the white house. They are running on what they have accomplished and what they hope to accomplish in a second term. Not on a war that was fought 30 years ago.
But hey I'm not going to complain. I happen to believe that people will see through this kind of campaign tactic. And when the democratic party pulls stuff like this they just end up looking silly.
