I realize this really isn't a new tactic but it appears the "new" thrust of the Bush media blitz is to portray Bush as a rational optimist and his detractors (Kerry included) as angry, "extreme" and "wild-eyed".
Bush's new campaign ad - June 24, 2004: Kerry's Coalition of the Wild-eyed portrays angry, shouting men (Gore, Gephart, Moore, Dean...) and a swearing Kerry.
While discussing Moore's F-911 on NPR's The Diane Rhem show, Bill Kristol embraced the "new" tactic. In response to Eleanor Clift's assertion that the Bush family profited from its relationship with the House of Saud, Kristol dismissed Eleanor's statement and used the word "extreme" at least three times to refer to it, the language coming from the Left and the Left.
My question to you, how do we counter this attempt to marginalize and dismiss our valid criticisms as extreme? I'm reminded of what happened in the media pre-Iraq with regards to protests. If we're dismissed as extreme or fringe, we're in danger of losing our audience. What's our counteroffensive?