I've now read 17 different posters and two diaries claiming that there is insufficient evidence to place the negative flyer phenomenon at the Dean campaign's doorstep.
Let's put this to rest, once and for all, so we can move on.
From the
Washington Post:
Tricia Enright, a Dean spokeswoman, said the barbs were merely taking note of Clark's past statements and were not at odds with the Dean campaign's appeal in recent days for Democrats to strike a more positive tone. "I don't think it's inappropriate to point out the facts," she said.
From the New York Times:
Outside one of General Clark's campaign events in Peterborough, N.H., a Dean aide handed out leaflets attacking the general. The fliers highlighted General Clark's praise for the Bush administration's prosecution of the war on terrorism in 2001 and 2002, his votes for Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush, and his sometimes conflicting statements about the Iraq war.
"I just think it's important to point out to the voters of New Hampshire that General Clark supported the war and General Clark spent most of his life as a Republican," said Jay Carson, Dr. Dean's national spokesman, "and he's now running as an antiwar candidate in the Democratic primary."
Whether you think this attack had merit is not the point of this post. I just would like to present the evidence, as numerous posters have suggested the attack was unlikely to have come from Dean HQ...if not impossible.
No denials at DFA. Two self-justifications at major newspapers. Clase closed.