Kerry Spot    [ jim geraghty reporting ]
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My initial reaction was that the new ad from the Swift Boat Vets is the weakest one so far, and a tactical misstep.

Problem one is that it doesn't set up Kerry's claim of spending Christmas in Cambodia well enough. Is there no video of Kerry mentioning Cambodia at all? At the very least, the words, "seared - seared" need to get in there somewhere.

Problem two is that the Cambodia story has been out there a while; it will be old news to most of the political world. The Swifties have largely won that point; it's time to punch another hole in Kerry's Vietnam war hero image. With the last ad, it looked like the focus of the Swiftie campaign was shifting to Kerry's 1971 testimony; now we're back to the Vietnam years. Er, months.

Problem three is the timing. The Swift Boat Vets' ads have scored a direct hit on Kerry's image, and the polls show they've done some damage. But next week is the GOP convention, and the spotlight is going to shift to Bush. If I were advising the Swifties — and I'm not, obviously — I would suggest they stop running ads this weekend, and hold off the next wave until Sept. 15 or so. (If they run these ads around the anniversary of 9/11, the screams of outrage will be deafening, and besides, why bother running the ads when people aren't paying attention to politics?)

Of course, no sooner than I think that than I find Kerry said this, according to ABC News"

A revved up Kerry addressed Vietnam first retorting, "All the guys who were with me on my boat absolutely document what I've said...you're now hearing about the lie. I am absolutely telling you the God's honest truth with regard to what happened over there."

So maybe this is the right time to run a new ad featuring a vet who was on Kerry's boat calling him a liar.

[Posted 08/26 05:58 PM]