Monday, June 23, 2008

Opportunity in the swift boating of Barack Obama

I love this image from the GOP's 2004 convention and figure it will work as good as any for news that David Freddoso, with his a National Review Online and Human Events pedigree, Regnery Publishing, and Creative Response Concepts are teaming up for a negative book on Senator Obama. FDL's Blue Texan is right to scold Politico's Jonathan Martin for not adding "that a) the Swift Boat Liars are liars; b) that McSame called them liars; and that c) everyone but people like Jonathan Martin knows they're liars." Still, there's opportunity here.

Kate Zernike's Saturday NYT's reporting Still Fighting the ‘Swift Boat’ Battle is timely. I'd posted on the T. Boone Pickens vs. John Kerry back in the fall of 2007. Ms. Zernike wrote,

... Extensive media accounts undermined the Swift Boat charges in 2004, pointing out that some of the Swift Boat critics had written statements during Vietnam lauding Mr. Kerry for extraordinary bravery in the incidents they later said he made up. (One accuser in particular had become upset by his portrayal in a Kerry biography in 2004.) One critic had himself received a medal for heroism during a hail of gunfire he later claimed Mr. Kerry had concocted to win his third purple heart.

But that did not blunt the political impact. ...

Amen! One can only hope that the Obama campaign is ready to attack this book at its Regnery roots. To nip, nip, nip it in the bud I'd like to see them go after the right wing's message machine yet I might be hoping for far too much. Forget John McSame Blue Texan as the Obama campaign has a great chance to use this development to their advantage. Reminding the electorate of how fear and lies were a staple of the 2004 campaign can only help the Democratic nominee. John Gunn

UPDATE ~ Afternoon of June 23, 2008 - This old 2006 post referencing Eight Easy Steps for Conservative Authors later came to mind.

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