Here is my bet for Bush 2004's version of the nortorious Bush 1988 Willie Horton ad:
[A photo of Howard Dean appears on an otherwise empty field of black.]
ANNOUNCER: Do you know this man?
[Camera starts to zoom in.]
ANNOUNCER: This is Howard Dean. This man wants to become your president.
[Camera zooms further, so tight on Dean's face that it looks mottled and disfigured.]
[Screen is suddenly filled with rapid-fire snapshots of Gay Pride marchers. Shirtless "Dykes on Bikes," middle-aged men in pink tutus with beards and hairy backs, drag queens, leathermen. Crowd noises. Photos fade to black with closeup of a child being pulled in a red wagon in a parade. Amid the crowd noises, you hear the muffled cry, "Mommy ... help me!" Follow photos of abused children with an occasional NAMBLA banner.]
[Camera returns to Howard Dean photo.]
ANNOUNCER: This man wants to be your president.
End spot.
Is there anything that we can do to counter the inevitable? If Dean is the candidate, we are going to be seeing this 24/7 on every channel on television for three of four months straight.
One thing that I have noticed about Rove and his storm troopers is that they always seem to be planning for two scenarios. The first is their "win" scenario and the second is an "also win" scenario, in case the first one does not work out. Democrats seem to prefer a "win or lose hard" strategy.
What is our spin on Dean's gay unions legislation. How are we going to capture the dialog on this issue before the shooting starts?