ABCNote on GOP's smear/lie justification: Politics: "It ain't beanbag."

[papau]

First Rule of Politics: "It ain't beanbag." Second Rule of Politics: "Never lose control of your public image, but force your opponent to lose control of his." Third Rule of Politics: "In times of battle, all hands on deck." Fourth Rule of Politics: "Keep your candidate above the fray, but force your opponent to debate and defend against surrogates and shadowy, ferocious enemies." Fifth Rule of Politics: "Say thing that get under your opponent's skin, and which will sound so implausible to his ear that at first he won't bother to defend himself."

misleading lines of attack against Kerry:

on a gas tax, for voting to cut defense programs that a then Congressman Dick Cheney also appeared not to support, for allegedly supporting oil drilling off the coast of Florida, to name just three that were as shameless as they were insufficiently responded to. And yesterday, the President added in another classic: "What I'm telling you is we're not going to nationalize health care under George W., and my opponent is, see. That's the difference. My opponent will; we won't."