"The senior guys really think we don't have a problem here."

We should be so lucky that they think that.That's the sort of opposing mindset I'd pray for if I weren't an athiest...

Let's assume this is true. How, then, will the Kerry campaign react to the SBVT's next commercial--surely to be about Christmas in Cambodia? Given the (admittedly grudging and scant) publicity the MSM has afforded the SBVT so far, hasn't the predicate still been laid to put out spots that concentrate on the "problem areas" and for the media react to them?

If this is true, it is naive and should give BC '04 a lot of reasons for optimism.

Whoa, an addendum to my above post.

If the Kerry campaign anticipated the Christmas in Cambodia exposure, why would they have initially denied the senator ever said such a thing? Wouldn't they have known there was a paper trail from here to the Mekong?

Given the above, either this is the most inept campaign in history or they truly believe they can spoon feed the mass media anything they want.

either this is the most inept campaign in history or they truly believe they can spoon feed the mass media anything they want

Could be both!

Further edivence (if true) that the Kerry campaign is in dire straits.

This staffer says nothing about the merits of the Swift Boat Vets story, he's only commenting on the factors that would reduce its impact. What the comment admits indirectly is that the charges are a serious problem unless covered up and ignored by the media.

They're also fooling themselves if they think Kerry's underwhelming convention speech made him invulnerable on military issues.

For people working to get someone elected to be President of the United States, the complacency, hubris, and laissez-faire attitude of these staffers about their candidate's history and image are shocking. I could do a better job...in all seriousness.

I already emailed cnn and asked why they were not covering it.

I do get the feeling that Fox cut a deal for convention access.

Hmm.

Well here's something. Evidently the Democrats are filing with the FEC to get the group shut down. The cause? The SwiftVets are being accused of using **SOFT MONEY** in their ads.

Now this is surreal. Hasn't MoveOn.org, ACT and a host of other Democrat 527 groups spent about $100 million dollars in soft money in the last 6 months???

And they're complaining about $500k? Or rather they're claiming that the amount is $500k.

These people have no ethics whatsoever. I'm going over to SwiftVets and donate another $100. These people need to be smacked and smacked hard.

Perma-linkless Jim Geraghty on NRO's "The Kerry Spot" (08/10 03:56PM) sez that the Prowler quote is a fake, but offers up another intriguing quote in its stead. Did he mean "Faust" instead of "Freud," I wonder?

Jim Geraghty, who runs the "Kerry Spot" on NRO, has posted the following:

UPDATE: I ran this past my guy at the Kerry campaign, who's been honest and reliable with me in the past, and he says this didn't happen. His words: "This smooth talking 'source' is clearly a fiction. Seems more like a conservative's paranoid conspiratorial central casting image of what Democrats must talk like about our Freudian bargain with the media."

http://www.nationalreview.com/kerry/kerryspot.asp

I am firmly on the "swiftvets are a major story that deserves to be covered" side of things, but I think Will's suspicions about this particular bit are correct.

NRO says No.

Hugh, shouldn't he have said Faustian bargain? I don't know what a Freudian bargain is.

Here's the microfilm of Kerry's Senate report on his 1991 Cambodia visit, which mentions his previous "visits" in the intro.

http://free.prohosting.com/cyberdog/p1.JPG

http://free.prohosting.com/cyberdog/c.jpg

The relevant part is on page 1
"... During the war, military operations had carried me throughout many of the waterways and coast lines of southern Vietnam and even, occasionally, into Cambodia. "

The way I see it, between the Primaries and the General Election the Kerry campaig, DNC and assorted 527's will be spending close to half a BILLION dollars trying to make Kerry President. (I'm talking about the money Kerry spent to get the nomination, DNC money, Kerry's presidential Campaign funds, Soros' Media Matters and the assorted smaller groups such as ACT and MoveOn).

I think they are looking at this huge expenditure and they believe they simply cannot lose. There is this unchallenged mantra that money wins elections, but they have it wrong- Lack of money loses elections, but outspending your opponent is no guarantee, and it absolutely is NOT a substitue for a good candidate with a solid message.

Half A Billion Dollars. And they are going to lose. The media is going to be examining this one for decades.

Ronnie:

The quote is Freudian, but it must mean Faustian - I had never heard of a Freudian bargain either.

Half A Billion Dollars. And they are going to lose. The media is going to be examining this one for decades.

And as with so many things, they'll come to a completely wrong and unsupportable conclusion.

A Freudian bargain? Your mother for a cigar, perhaps (or is that a Clintonian bargain?).