If I Were An Attack Dem...

If I were an Attack Dem, I would find the fact that Bush is questioning the authenticity of the CBS memo *very* interesting, especially in light of this tidbit in the Times:

...over the past week, officials - who said that Mr. Bush had inspected the documents personally - have become openly skeptical amid mounting evidence that suggests the papers are fake.

Ah ha! If Bush has inspected the documents himself, a less friendlier interviewer than at the right-leaning Union Leader might have asked a simple follow-up along the lines of, "The Killian memo says that he ordered you to take a physical. You were there, Mr. President - what do you remember?"

By putting himself into the story, the White House has exposed the President to this line of questioning. My previous advice had been to keep the President out of this, pending developments. Well, that may have been the strategy at one time, but now it is full speed ahead, with the President on the line. Why?

There are secondary reasons, aside from the general consensus that the documents are forgeries - the recent (and probably last) release of newly discovered Bush service records was a non-event; the NYTimes is linking CBS purported source Bill Burkett to the Kerry campaign; and we on the right are always energized by stories about the bias of the liberal media.

But the biggest motivation for Bush to re-ignite this story is simply that another week spent on this is another week wasted by the Dems. Ponder this from the Saturday Times:

In one particularly troublesome sign for Mr. Kerry, a majority of voters said he was spending too much time attacking Mr. Bush and talking about the past, rather than explaining what he would do as president.

Karl Rove is baiting the trap. Want to bet that Attack Dems bite?

UPDATE: Hmm, no bet. The AP leads with the news that Bush has reviewed the documents, and we get this from Terry McAuliffe:

"Now we know the president has reviewed the documents, but the American people still don't have answers," Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said in a statement issued Saturday. "President Bush should come clean and explain how he leapt past hundreds to join the Guard and why he failed to meet his requirements once he was in."

Go, Attack Dems! Kill Faster! (Later, maybe you will figure out just who it is you are killing...)

UPDATE: From the comments - "The Dem circular firing sqaud just fixed bayonets."

Comments

[Frank G]

never underestimate Terry McAuliffe's ability to screw things up for Kerry. TM's only qualification was in knowing Clinton and having the ability to raise $. His scandal at Global Crossing should've been warning enuf that he has a tin ear. Gaaaaawwwwddd I hope they keep him on :-)

[BarCodeKing]

Terry McAwful... What a maroon! He's still running with that canard that Bush "leapt past hundreds to join the Guard." WRONG! There was NO waiting list for anyone who wanted to become a fighter pilot in the TANG because of the lengthy active duty training requirement. And from what I've read, there is NO indication that Bush failed to meet all of his obligations.

A stupid enemy is a gift from God.

[Birkel]

"Go, Attack Dems! Kill Faster! (Later, maybe you will figure out just who it is you are killing...)"

Me thinks you give them too much credit. Did they realize New England liberals haven't been elected since 1960? If so, why have they nominated Dukakis & Kerry? (Was that redundant?) Have they witnessed the House, Senate, governorships, etc. moving to the R's and therefore changed strategies or have they become more reactionary/socialistic?

Call in the circular firing squad!! The only way to restore the two party system is to get one of them off their collective bum. It took nearly 50 years to get the R's back to being a political force ('32-'80); I hope the D's don't stay on the sideline that long.

Or rather, I hope they throw the LLL's off the life raft soon.

[jamesbray]

The dem circular firing squad just fixed bayonets!

[twalsh]

I believe a story a while ago said that President Bush said he did not recall seeing any of the documents. That would include the one ordering him to take a physical.

[TM]

Well, the Kurtz story in the WaPo quotes Dan Bartlett of the WH as saying he showed the memos to Bush before CBS aired them, and Bush said he did not remember them. Bartlett did not comment on whether the Pres had a reaction to the content of the memos.

[Shannon Love]

I think the Democrats neglect that Bush has a strategic advantage in this matter: he knows what actually happened. The Dems are guessing and hoping but Bush knows. With this knowledge he knows what to say and when.

The Dems have convinced themselves that there is something in the AWOL story but I don't think they have considered the effects on their own prospects if there isn't.