September 10, 2004

THE DISCIPLINED CANDIDATE

Washington Wrap (Knoller Nugget, Sept.10, 2004, CBS News)

In neither of his two campaign speeches on Thursday did President Bush make any mention of the new questions about his service in the National Guard. Nor were reporters given a chance to ask him about it. The strategy for Mr. Bush was to stay decidedly “on message.” And that he did - ridiculing John Kerry for his policies on the economy and on Iraq.

It fell to White House spokesman Scott McClellan to handle the Guard matter. He called the latest round of charges a coordinated attack by Kerry and his surrogates. McClellan said it’s the "same old recycled attacks" that come up every time Mr. Bush runs for office.


That's how a stable adult professional would have handled the Swift Boat kerfuffle.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 10, 2004 3:46 PM
Comments

Um, except that the Swift Boat folks didn't have documents that were clearly fraudulent. And had some rather serious charges. By people who put their faces and names on them.

Posted by: ray at September 10, 2004 7:28 PM

Ray;

So what? Even if the charges are true, this is still the way to handle them. Worst case is that such a defense is completely ineffective, which would actually be a step up from the situation Kerry is in now.

Posted by: Annoying Old Guy at September 10, 2004 10:51 PM

Agree with AOG. Some conservatives think Bush should jump all over this forged documents thing but his job is to stay out of it and appear presidential and let the lower level people slug it out.

Posted by: AWW at September 10, 2004 11:14 PM

AWW:

Exactly. All of the relevant questions are for Kerry to answer, not Bush.

And if Dan Rather falls, the worrisome thought for Kerry must be: "who goes with him?".

Slightly off-topic: there will be lots of good political books coming out around mid-summer 2007. Certainly better than 2003.

Posted by: jim hamlen at September 11, 2004 12:12 AM

Bush should look to the future. How dare he be disciplined, organized and focused? C'mon, who wouldn't select an aging gigolo over a focused, disciplined, and experienced Chief Executive?

All the MSM is talking about the Kilian forgery. The other networks have to jump all over it as a matter of taking competitive advantage. Senior management and sponsors may give news departments a broad deference, but a story which damages a rival is an opportunity to increase market share. And these executives would rather eat their young than pass up a chance at increasing market share.

Posted by: Bart at September 11, 2004 7:23 AM
« FAKING IT: | Main | MUCH DONE, MUCH TO DO: »