And the ad hominem continues...

Let's get ready to rumble

Yesterday, Senate minority leader Harry Reid, addressing a group of high-school students, "I think this guy [Bush] is a loser." To his credit, he seems to have immediately recognized this as the kind of gaffe the press loves to pick up, so he in turn picked up the phone and called Karl Rove to apologize.

You don't like the man? Fine. You think he's a loser? Fine. But if you're one of the leaders of a major political party, perhaps you shouldn't say such things in public.

Or should you? After all, the nominal leader of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean, has been quoted as saying any number of insulting things about Republicans, calling them, by turns, 'evil,' 'corrupt' and 'brain-dead'. So maybe we shouldn't blame Ried for following the sterling example of his commander-in-chief.

To be honest, none of this really bothers me. In fact, I welcome it--the truth is (and it's a truth that the Dems have a blind spot about) that a lot of people actually like Predident Bush. Therefore, this line of attack will undoubtedly fail the left when the midterm elections roll around. I understand the point about "rallying the base" (though it should be noted that this has also failed thus far, says Bob Novak in a quick rundown of fundraising), but the press has a long memory. You can't, to put it simply, say something today and hope that it will be forgotten when you try to start focusing on policy points. It will undercut your credibility and make you look like whiners pretty much regardless of your policy stances. But hey, if that's what's working for you...