August 17, 2004
First, Know Thyself
Kerry Campaign would like to buy a vowel...is there an 'E' ?
As issues churn in the campaign for President, shots between Bush and Kerry regarding intelligence overhauls, the 9/11 Commission recommendations, and Kerry's Senate record have resulted in a self-inflicted wound for the Kerry campaign.
The Bush campaign has made issue of Kerry's attendance in intelligence hearings and his record in the Senate, in response to which the Kerry campaign publicized material emphasizing Kerry's strong points on intelligence, including his service as vice-chairman on the Senate Select committee for intelligence.
Indeed, Senator Kerrey, decorated Viet Nam veteran, was vice-Chairman. Senator Bob Kerrey, that is, he of 9/11 Commission fame and interrogative infamy. The Kerry campaign should have a pretty strong blush on such a foolish mistake - this isn't simply mistyping the name, this is actually claiming actions of another.
While this certainly is the result of laziness of lower staff, and Kerry has never himself claimed the position by his own voice, it's the kind of foolishness that hurts and can build negative momentum. You'd have thought that surely someone with the campaign knows the Senator's record, and that he wasn't the vice-chair of the committee.
Instead of a strong rebuttal to the Bush campaign, it in fact reinforces the accussation of a lazy disconnectedness between Kerry and his past activity in intelligence matters.
Posted by MEC2 at August 17, 2004 06:55 PM