Timing a Smear

Timing a Smear

It turns out that the John Kerry campaign was not happy with Terry McAwful's accusation two weeks ago that President Bush was AWOL from the National Guard.
No, Kerry wasn't unhappy that it was brought up. They were unhappy with the timing. Bringing it up when he did allowed Bush to defend himself, as he has, with documentation that he did fulfill his duties. By November, the issue will be dead and might even reflect badly on the Democrats.
Kerry wanted to smear Bush closer to the general election.

"There is near-universal glee in Democratic circles over seeing Bush on the griddle over questions about whether he reported for duty while serving stateside in the Guard more than three decades ago. As Democrats see it, the controversy -- and what they see as the White House's halting answers to legitimate questions -- undermines Bush's national security credentials and his reputation for candor, while highlighting a life of ease and privilege that Bush lived before the presidency.

Amid the Democratic chortling, however, there are voices of caution who worry that the party may be raising trouble for itself with an exhumation of Bush's past. The lesson of the Clinton years was that accusers -- from Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-N.Y.) on Whitewater to House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal -- often suffered more damage than their intended targets."

Indeed, 56% of Democrats do not believe that the charges are illigimate.