There Was a Time When Bush Didn't Have to Lead the Attack

How has this election been going for Republicans? Badly. So badly that President Bush himself has been the lead attack dog focused on bashing John Kerry for his derogatory remarks about our troops in Iraq.

The Kerry story is not a major news event. The senator’s remarks were wrong and stupid, but they don’t rise above the level of political fodder. In the past, Bush has made an effort to appear above the daily political fodder, deflecting questions and allowing his subordinates and the conservative echo chamber to do the dirty work.

The fact that Bush feels the need to personally attack Kerry goes to show just how difficult it’s been for the Republican machine to get moving this year. Republican strategists must feel that no one is listening to the usual attack dogs and so they’ve let the President take the lead in frothing up the base with the political fodder of the day.

Of course, the move has worked. All the news outlets are talking about what Kerry said and many candidates are having to answer questions about the senator’s remarks. The Democrats probably won’t suffer any sizable consequence from Kerry’s idiocy, but they have lost a whole day in the last week of the campaign.

Still, there was a time when the Republicans could engineer a day of distraction without the President having to step outside of the White House. Clearly things could be going better for the GOP. I guess they should be thankful they still have John Kerry to kick around.