WurfWhile

While the “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” (SBVT) attack ads on John Kerry’s Vietnam service may not have been as devastating as former National Guard member George Bush may have liked, they are a harbinger of things to come. The strategy in the Bush camp is simple: take Bush’s biggest negatives and attack his opponent for them, regardless of the merit. As Michael Tomasky points out, the Bush team knows what to expect from the press. The hope is to confuse the issue, create an alternate reality, so that the public won’t think straight. Having substantial flip-flops in his own record, the Bush campaign attacks Kerry shamelessly as a flip-flopper, often without justification. Being raised as a wealthy elite, Bush attacks Kerry as wealthy and out-of-touch, despite Kerry coming from parents of relatively modest means compared to the Bush family. And so it goes…

While I’m not going to help the Bush team, those of you interested in what ads/slander to expect next can perform a simple exercise. Where is Bush most vulnerable on the issues (ok, I said a simple exercise, not a short one)? Compare this list with what can best resonate as an easy-to-understand, gut level issue (particularly for independents and the Republican base) and you’ve now got a list that Karl Rove is considering for Bush to bash Kerry. There are likely bonus points involved if either Democrats generally, or Kerry in particular, is perceived to be legitimately weak on the issue, but as I indicated the Bush camp does not attack on the merits - it keeps his opponents flat-footed.