From horse's mouth: George Bush = Lee Atwater.

[Armstead]

Here's something that helps put the current campaign in perspective.

Lee Atwater is regarded by most observers as one of the prime movers in the "dirty tricks" school of Republican campaigning. He used to revel in smears, dishonesty and all other nasty behavior. He was effective -- helped to defeat Dukakis. But he is also blamed as the person who helped drag politics into the mud.

He was so bad that supposedly he had a deathbed conversion, and expressed regret at what he had wrought.

On Hardball the other night, a Republican said something interesting regarding George W. Bush and the infamous Atwater, in a discussion of Kitty kelly's book:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6019473/

Excerpt:

MATTHEWS: Ed Rogers is a Republican strategist who worked as the deputy assistant to the first President Bush. He also worked closely with George W. Bush in 1987 for Bush 41‘s election.

ED ROGERS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Obviously, I was Lee Atwater‘s deputy and he was at the campaign. And he was an intense, focused, deliberate, good colleague, good pal, good defender of his father, and a good operative, a good ear. He and Lee Atwater were sympatico on their instincts about a lot—on politics. They were much sync. I think there was originally some thinking he would be there to keep an eye on Lee Atwater, when in fact, they became fast allies and fast friends.

MORE