Edwards called out Bush, stating that this was Bush's moment of truth and that we'll find out what kind of a man he is. Well, if his campaign speaks for him, I guess we now know
where he stands (via CNN):
The Bush campaign rejected accusations Sunday from Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign that it was using "tired, old smear tactics" by letting backers attack Kerry's Vietnam War record through an independent group.
"The fact is this campaign is unprecedented in our praise of our opponent's service during Vietnam," Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
The remark came two days after the Kerry campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission arguing that a group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was illegally coordinating with President's Bush re-election campaign -- a charge the Bush campaign denies.
Not only have they denied their connection to these ads, which has been widely proven on a variety of posts here and abroad, but then the campaign goes and makes this charge (from the same article):
Kerry's campaign plans to release its own ad Monday that accuses the Bush campaign of attacking Kerry through a "front group." It calls on Bush to "denounce the smear" and "get back to the issues."
Mehlman released a letter, to be sent to television stations Monday, calling on them to "set the record straight on the Kerry campaign's ad falsely accusing Bush-Cheney '04 of violating campaign finance laws." The letter warns that the ad contains a "false and libelous charge."
So, if I get the gist of this response, the Bush Campaign is going to threaten possible legal action against the Kerry campaign for this advertisement? After all they have told the Amer....simply incredible!
They will do and say anything to hold onto power, even possibly threaten a libel suit against Kerry. I don't think the phrase "they have no shame" is good enough anymore for these guys.
I leave you with the mighty words of Digby, who has a good insight as to what exactly we should do:
I don't mean to be too critical, but I think it is a serious misreading of the challenge we face to put the blame for the state of our politics on the alleged shortcomings of our own leaders. We are at a big disadvantage in this game because we have at least a modicum of decency and while I agree that we very likely are going to have to give that up, I don't think it's a failure of nerve to at least have tried to keep our political system from totally turning into a sewer. The path on which we are now forced to go is one that is bound to taint all of us. I'm not sorry we have taken it reluctantly.
But, I am very nervous that if this attitude remains, and it is quite widespread, we are going to see Democrats once again making the Republican case for them when Kerry gets in office by joining the chorus and calling him "french" for trying to govern in an extremely hostile environment.
This is where we go wrong. If Bush has proven anything, it's that we are in an era in which actual ideology and policy, even power --- even winning --- isn't the point to the Republicans. They are about the fight. It's the game, the argument, the battle. They get off on the political combat. For them, the action is the juice, win or lose. (And one of the reasons they've been so successful at co-opting the media is because the media thrives on the same juice.)
Just fighting back isn't going to solve that problem. Indeed, over the long haul, it's likely to result in failure if that's all we do. They love fighting a lot more than we do. And losing doesn't dull their bloodlust, it engages it. We need to think of a more sophisticated battle plan.
...snip...
But, blaming ourselves for the state of play or deluding ourselves into thinking it's just a matter of "being tough" is to misunderstand what we are facing. It's a primitive force with post-modern tools in its hands and we'd better start looking at this thing for what it is instead of seeing ourselves as simply inept. Winning won't change anything. As long as the fight continues, they are getting exactly what they want.
