The prevailing wisdom laid down by Kos over the past couple days is that investigative reporting has laid the smackdown on the Swift Boat Liars. From a factual standpoint, that may be true, but it unfortunately rides a different conventional wisdom arrow than influential segments of the press are on.
Last night I did something I seldom do: I watched a lot of cable infotainment. While wallowing in this sewer of humanity, it became obvious what the true objectives of the Bush campaign have been in this escapade. They are playing a version of the film-oriented "You want Brad Pitt, you'll settle for George Clooney, you get David Caruso." In their case: "They want to show Kerry broke the law repeatedly and served dishonorably, they'll settle for showing Kerry was not a competent soldier, what they got was the meme that "'both candidates served honorably.'"
Yes, that became the easy lead for those misleading "Vietnam is the war the baby boomers are destined to fight forever" hoo haw. "The first presidential election to feature two men who served in the military during the Vietnam era" was one patently false lead I heard (even if you buy their logic on Bush, let's not forget that Al Gore actually served in Vietnam...).
We need pushback on this lie too. If ever there was a weekend to speak out to local media, this is it. Because the Truth is this: George W. Bush is the dirtiest politician and least accomplished person to ever hold the office of the President.